A New Journey
by Mdwilki26
Summary: This is a story about my OC and what she goes through, but she is not alone. Noriko will find out about others and herself. Ryuji x OC. M for later ;) T for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry it was deleted a while ago, had to make a few adjustments. Enjoy!**

Name: Noriko Hitomi

Description: She has gray hair. Eyes are silver, scar on her right cheek and 5'7. She has tattoo wings on her back to serve as a seal to her angel wings, and she has small tattoo's on her wrist to keep her powers in check and to keep her somewhat hidden from demons.

Personality: She is really outgoing once you get to know her, but while the characters don't know her, she has a lone wolf personality. Shy in the beginning but starts to open up during the story.

Background: Both her parents were exorcist's at the academy, but the father was an Angel that wanted to help others and joined Mephisto Pheles exorcists in defeating demons. The father and the mother were great friends with the headmaster and they asked them to take care of their daughter if anything were to happen to them. The mom and dad became a family and started to teach their daughter under secrecy about everything they knew at the age of 7; so she is pretty ahead when she enters the academy. They knew that Noriko would have to defend herself if she were in any type of trouble, since she was half human, half angel.

Powers: Fast healing, and can heal others. Incredible strength. Fast runner and learner. Great power when using any type of exorcist spells.

Chapter One

On a quiet morning in a small town of Japan, a mom and dad were decorating the house for their daughter who has graduated high school and getting ready to go off to college. The mother sat on the couch, looking through old photos of her family in her scrap book and started to tear up.

"It's amazing how fast they grow up... I just wish it wasn't so fast", said the mother.

The father who was hanging up the sign that said 'Congratulations!', paused and looked at his wife, "I know, but every parent deals with this. We are not the only ones whose little birdy is leaving the nest". He walked over to his wife and sat down next to her. Looking at a photo of their little girl dancing in their backyard brought back memories that put smiles on their faces.

" I remember this day. She was in the ballerina phase and would dance around everywhere she went", said the mother who was wiping away tears with a kleenex.

"Haha, ya. Oh, remember this! She was so happy when she found that seashell on the beach and thought she could hear mermaids speaking to her", the father said while pointing to the little girl in the photo who had a seashell up to her ear and smiling to her hearts content.

They looked at each other and smiled.

"We raised a beautiful child, didn't we?", asked the mother.

"Ya. Speaking of our daughter, is she still asleep?", asked the father while he looked upstairs towards his daughter's room.

"Let's go wake her up. She doesn't want to be late for the graduation ceremony", said the mother as she closed the book and set it on the coffee table. They silently walked up the stairs and creaked open their daughters door to see her asleep. The father put a finger to his lips towards his wife to be silent. He creeped up to the bed and yelled, "The house is on fire!".

Noriko jumped and saw that her father was on the floor laughing at his daughters expression. She growled and threw one of her pillows towards his head, which hit on the spot.

"Dad... Payback's a bitch!", she growled as she moved her long gray hair out of her face and into a high ponytail.

"I'm sorry honey, but your face was priceless!", said the dad as he continued to laugh on her bedroom floor.

Noriko looked towards her mother in a plea to get him out. She didn't like any type of loud noises in the morning, and so far, her day was pretty bad.

"Come on honey, let her get dressed. I'm making you your favorite breakfast so you better get dressed pretty fast if you want it nice and hot", the mom said as she was helping her husband off the ground and out of her daughters room.

"Thanks mom", Noriko said in a groggy voice.

Once the door was shut, Noriko layed back down on her bed and sighed.

'Can't wait till this ceremony is done with. All I want to do, is enjoy my bed and the sleep that comes with it', she thought.

Finally after 5 minutes, she finally decided to get ready. Once she was done with getting ready, she walked downstairs to see that her parents had finished decorating the place. She smiled when she saw the sign that congratulated her and walked to the kitchen to smell the frying of hash browns, her mouth watered when she saw the scrambled eggs and blueberry pancakes sitting on the counter. Then she felt big arms wrap around her and spin her around.

"My baby is all grown up!", said her father once he was done making her dizzy.

"Honey! You are going to make her sick before she even eats!", yelled the mother as she smacked him on the shoulder with a wooden spatula.

Noriko smiled and got a plate out and served herself. Once the family meal was done, Noriko looked at the clock and told her parents that they should probably leave if they wanted good seats. Driving to the location where the ceremony was held took them about an hour, since they lived in the suburbs of Japan and not in the local area of the school, it took them longer to get anywhere. To Noriko's wishes, the ceremony was over and the students cried and took photos. She never really had any friends since they all saw her as a freak because of her hair color and how quiet she was. Her family went to a restaurant and celebrated with other parts of the family. Her mom's side of the family was a good amount, only her uncle, aunt, their two kids, her grandparents and her parents were at the restaurant.

Once the whole thing was over and they had arrived back home, Noriko went to the bathroom and cleaned off the makeup she had on all day and wore more comfortable cloths. Deciding that she wanted to hang out with the family more, she went down stairs and saw her parents watching TV. Noriko jumped over the couch and plopped on the cushions.

"Honey, don't do that! You are going to ruin the couch", her mom said while looking up from her magazine.

Noriko shrugged it off and watched whatever her dad was watching. Once it hit around 11, they all decided to go to bed. Noriko sighed as her body hit her soft bed and hugged her pillows for comfort. 'Hello bed, you and I are going to be best buds until college starts' she thought as she drifted off into sleep.

Noriko woke up to hear the loud noise of glass breaking and gun fire from her parent's bedroom. With caution, she quietly grabbed the gun that was under her bed and put a silencer on the barrel. She quickly, and silently, ran to her closet and opened the door. Inside was a hidden door behind her cloths that would protector if anyone were to come. But this hidden passage also went to her parents closet, just incase this type of scenario were to occur. Both of her parents were exorcist at the True Cross Academy, and since she was half angel, half human, a lot of demons were to come after her and her father for what they were.

As a precaution, they taught her everything from shooting a gun, to summoning a familiar. And at the age of 16, she herself could easily be an exorcist at the True Cross Academy like her parents were before they had retired to take care of her. Her parents wanted her to have a normal life, but knew that would never happen, so teaching her early was their best option. Noriko grew up with a target on the back of her head because of her parents, and that wasn't going to stop her from acting like a normal student.

True it was hard growing up in that type of situation every single day and night of your life where demons were looking for you and wanting to kill you, and Noriko didn't want to look at it as a setback, but to look at it as an advantage to making her a stronger person; which brings us to now.

Noriko slowly made her way through the passage, holding the gun steadily to her side and keeping her breathing quiet. As she made her way closer, she could hear her parents talking to whoever it was that dared come into this house.

"If you don't give me what I want right now, I will wake your daughter up and kill her parents right before her eyes, and we don't want that now do we?", asked the man with a deep voice.

As she got closer to the other door, she slowly and quietly got on the floor and opened the small door. There she saw her parents in bed with shocked expressions, and the intruder at the foot of the bed. He was surrounded by hundreds of coal tars and had small amounts of blue flames covering parts of his body. The horns on his head and the tail wiggling around showed that this was a pretty high up demon, but that wouldn't stop her. She took an aim for the head and shot.

The coal tars freaked out and fled the room through the open window while the body hit the floor. Noriko quickly got out of her hiding spot to see her parents grabbing their exorcist equipment.

"Great shot Noriko! Now quickly, we need to go to-", her father's sentence was cut off when he saw the body get up.

"Noriko, you need to get out of here now! Who knows how many more are going to come!", her mother said anxiously as she was getting her familiar ready as well as spells.

"No way! You guy's taught me-", Noriko said before she was interrupted by her father.

"We know! But this is bigger than we can handle, and you are what they are coming after. And they are coming in armies. Here", he said while gathering his guns, he wrote down the address to the academy and handed it to her shaking hands, "Go to this address and ask for Mephisto Pheles, say you are the daughter of the angel and he will understand everything. We need you safe and this is the only place where you will be."

Noriko looked in her fathers eyes and saw that they were not going to come out of this alive, even with her fathers angelic powers that he still possessed. She looked at her mother and saw she got dressed in her exorcist clothing and was writing down a spell.

A loud roar came from outside and her father ran to the window, "They're coming, and a lot of them. Noriko", he looked at his daughter and brought her to his strong arms, and he was shaking as well; he knew this day would come. Her mother joined in on the hug and started to tear up, "We love you so much, just know that.", Noriko looked at her parents and saw the same horror in their eyes that she was feeling. Her father put a hand on Noriko's head and the other on his wife's, he said a prayer for protection in angelic language. His hands lit up and the feeling of warmth and love spread through Noriko and her mom. They hugged one more time and Noriko whispered, "I love you guys", and with that, she ran out of the room and down to the basement where there hid a secret door to the forest that was a mile from her house. She opened the creaky metal door and activated the spell that was on the wall for protection.

She ran and ran, but stopped when she felt an earthquake and a loud noise that sounded like an explosion, debris from the tunnel fell onto her and filled the place with dusty air. Noriko's knees buckled and went out, tears filled her eyes and sobs escaped her lips. They were gone. Her parents that she thought would outlive her were gone, just like that.

She laid on the cold earth for what seemed like a month, when she finally decided that her parents wouldn't want to see her like this, she was stronger than that. She got up and brushed the dirt off her clothes and face, and continued to run, the cold earth hitting her bare feet as she went.

Once she got to the exit, she released the seal and opened up to fresh air hitting her face. Noriko climbed out of the passage and closed the gate behind her. Looking up, she saw that her house was engulfed in blue flames. She gasped and dropped her gun and fell to her knees again. It took her a minute to take it all in before she heard a noise coming from the forest behind her. She quickly grabbed her gun and aimed it towards the noise. Her breathing was unsteady and her hands were shaking, fearing that whatever killed her parents is right behind the dark trees. She let off a warning shot in the air and heard nothing after. Noriko cautiously walked towards the location of town, looking back to make sure she wasn't being followed. She was lucky that it was the beginning of summer and the nights were in the seventies, wearing only a baggy t-shirt and short shorts made the small breeze feel like air conditioning to her.

She entered town about an hour later, sweaty and tired, looking at the deserted stores she felt like she was all alone. Brushing off that feeling, she walked towards the train station and saw that there was a old man behind the counter. She walked towards him and knocked on the glass. The old man violently woke up and blinked a few times to readjust his vision.

"How can I help you?", he asked in a tired voice.

"How do I get to True Cross Academy?"

"The next train to Tokyo comes in about a half hour. Take that and good luck."

Noriko nodded and sat down on a bench. She was the only one at the station besides the old man she just talked to. Once the train arrived, she hid the gun in the back of her pajama pants and walked in to see no one around. Noriko sighed and planted herself on a seat. She pulled out the paper of the school address and stared at it. Out of anger, she crumpled it up and threw it across the train, only to hit the window and slowly hit the floor. She memorized the address so she didn't need it anymore, looking out towards the night sky, she sighed and started to tear up. Noriko let out a small cry of frustration and wiped her tears away.

Once she finally arrived at the main town, she saw that it was just 4am and people were starting to pile up in the train. She got the most dirtiest looks because she was only in her pajamas, had no shoes on, and looked like a total wreck. Noriko walked out of the train and walked up to customer service, hoping that this person will be a lot more helpful than the last guy.

"Um...excuse me", she asked politely, and saw an older gentleman with a smile on his face. Once he saw her, that smile vanished and turned into a scowl.

"What do you want?", he asked in disgust.

"How do I get to True Cross Academy?", she asked in the politest way she could.

The man looked at her and laughed, "They accept trash now!? Wow!"

Noriko stepped back in shock that he would laugh in her face, with all that's she's been through, she wanted answers, now. She glared at him and said, "Look you old fart, I've had the roughest night of my life and already delt with an ass hole like you back at my home town. Now if you don't give me answers, I will rip your tongue out and shove it where the sun don't shine. Comprehend?", she asked as she gave him her death glare.

He quickly shut up once he saw that she wasn't joking and told her the directions. From what she understood, it was going to take her about two days to get to the school, with it being very popular but very far away didn't give her anymore hope. Noriko looked around and saw that this place was going to be a madhouse soon and didn't want to be near it. She walked out of the station and looked up at the sky, only to see high buildings and planes in the sky. Noriko sighed and started to walk around, at this point, she didn't care about the looks that she got and ignored the pain in her feet.

She didn't know how far she walked because she was starting to hit small neighborhoods and playgrounds. Looking around, she saw a church and some priest tending to the garden. They looked at her and smiled. Noriko smiled back and was about to walk away when all of a sudden she felt a hand on her shoulder. She grabbed hold of the hand and spun around until the man was on the ground and she was bending his arm in a painful lock. When she saw the man, she quickly let go. He was a priest at the monastery across the street. The other priest saw this and quickly ran to the man's side and helped him up.

"I'm so sorry!", Noriko said while she was on the ground bowing for forgiveness. To her surprise, she heard giggling from the priests. Looking up, they were kneeling down and looking at her in a strange way. They helped her up and one of them said, "It's alright, it was a natural reflex to you and I shouldn't have scared you like I did. Please come with me and the others, it looks like you need some help."

Noriko smiled and accepted the offer, "Thank you so much!, but I shouldn't, I feel like I'm trespassing."

The priests looked at her like she had grown two heads, "Nonsense! Please, let us help you."

Noriko looked at them and gave up and accepted their offer. As they took her towards the monastery, she saw that it was also connected to a house on the side. They lead her to the house and up the stairs to the bathroom.

"Use the shower, clean towels are on the rack. There are essentials in the medicine cabinet if you need any. We will look to see if we have any extra cloths lying around that will fit you", said one of the priests.

Noriko bowed and closed the door once they left. The shower felt like heaven to her, being able to scrub off the dirt and sweat and God knows what else. After she was done she dried herself off and there was a knock on the door. Quickly covering up, a man's voice said that they had found some cloths and put them in front of the door and left. Once he left, she quickly grabbed the clothes and saw that they were boy clothing. Getting dressed in boys clothing was different for her, but she enjoyed any type of clean cloths on her body right now. Brushing her teeth and coming out the tangles in her hair never felt better. Once she was all done, she neatly put what she used in a pile and grabbed her gun from the counter and put it behind her back and let it hang from the pants she wore, covering it up with the baggy t-shirt. Letting her hair air dry, she walked out feeling refreshed and a new person.

The priest that she took down was sitting at a table and drinking tea. When he noticed she was done, he smiled and gestured for her to sit, which she did.

"Tea?", he asked.

"Please", Noriko said with a sense of clarity.

She watched as the tea was being poured in the cup that she didn't even hear what the priest asked.

"I'm sorry?", she asked politely.

"Hehe, I asked where did you come from and how did you get here? You looked absolutely terrible, what's your story?", the man asked.

Noriko sighed and told him what had happened, she felt like she could trust him for an odd reason, like he has been through something like this.

"And now here we are.", she said with relief that she didn't have to talk so much.

He nodded and said, "Well, you would be surprised but we went through something like that about a year ago. Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Nagatomo, and you are?", he asked while holding out his hand.

"Noriko Hitomi. And I can't be more grateful that you took me in on such short notice.", she said while shaking his hand. He smiled and got up from his seat.

"Follow me, I want to show you something that will peak your interest." Noriko followed Nagatomo to a hallway with many pictures of two little boys and an old man. Noriko smiled at the photos while it painfully reminded her of her family.

"Shiro Fujimoto, Rin Okumura and Yukio Okumura. The man you see there was the pretty much the boss here, and the two boys were his adoptive sons. A lot of memories in this place." , he said while looking at the same picture that Noriko was looking at. Noriko looked at him when he mentioned the name Fujimoto.

"Fujimoto... Sounds so familiar and I don't know why.", Noriko said as she looked down at the floor trying to look back into her memories to find any mention of that same name.

"Ya, we really miss them. He passed away and the two boys are off at school.", he said.

Noriko got a sense like he wanted to tell her something.

"And, if I may ask, where do they tend to school?", she asked.

He smiled and said, "True Cross Academy."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Noriko stared at the man like he was the next God, which made Nagatomo laugh.

"I knew that would peak your interest", he said with a smile, "I will call the boys and say that they need to come down here. Besides, we haven't seen them in a while, so it would be nice to see them."

Noriko couldn't believe her ears. She was finally going to be able to go to this place where she was told she was going to be safe. Quickly hugging the man and bowing, she smiled up and him and said, "You are... awesome!".

Nagatomo patted her head and walked back to the table where they had tea, with Noriko following him. He grabbed the phone and started to talk to one of the boys. Noriko sat down in relief and sipped her tea. After he was done and hung up the phone, he turned to Noriko and said that they will be here tomorrow morning. She nodded her head and looked at her tea.

"So, now that that's over with, tell me, if you please, on how is it that Fujimoto's name came to familiar with you?", he asked while taking his previous seat.

Noriko took another sip and told him about her parents and what they taught her, as well as telling him what she is. He nodded and continued to drink his tea. Noriko looked at him and was surprised that he didn't do anything crazy like call the police or kick her out. Nagatomo looked at her shocked expression and sighed.

"You must be wondering why I took the news so lightly.", he stated while looking at her.

She nodded and said, "Usually when I try to explain this to others a long time ago, they would treat me like a demon and never go near me."

"Well then I think that you and Rin will get along perfectly. You see, Rin is very similar to you. When he was younger he had so much rage and would hurt other kids, so he never really had any friends besides us, his brother and his father."

Noriko nodded and swirled her cup around to watch the tea spin like a tornado. She put her head on the table and sighed. Nagatomo got up and showed her to the living room where she could watch some television to get her minds off of things. She gladly accepted the couch and watched the news and anything funny she could find. Nagatomo left to work and clean up the monastery with the other priests, leaving her alone in the house. Noriko got comfortable on the couch and before she knew what was happening, she fell to a deep sleep.

At around 10 pm, Nagatomo came back into the house to see that Noriko was asleep. He respectfully put a blanket on her and went off to bed himself.

Noriko was in her bed sleeping when she heard a deep evil laugh. She got up and saw the same creature she saw at the foot of her parents bed, but this time, she saw the front. He had a crazy look in his eye, teeth out of proportion and amazingly sharp with drool coming off of his lips. The blue flames escalated around him and filled her whole room, she felt like she was in her own type of Hell. She froze when she saw him coming towards her, still smiling like the joker.

"How delicious... soon, you will feel exactly what your parents felt when I slaughtered them into pieces!", he said while grabbing her face. She saw that his eyes were completely black and crazy. She tried to scream but the flames just engulfed her before she could do anything.

Noriko jerked out of the dream with a gasp, only to see that Nagatomo was shaking her to wake up, his face was filled with concern when he saw that she finally got out of the nightmare. Noriko collected her breathing and saw she was sweating like a football player practicing on the field. Collecting herself, she slowed down her breathing and pulled her now soaking wet hair out of her face.

"Noriko, are you alright?", he said with worry.

"Um, ya. Just a nightmare, that's all.", she said with a weak smile, not wanting to worry the guy anymore than she already has.

"Some nightmare. You screamed like bloody murder." , he said while going to get a glass of water.

Noriko looked up and asked, "I...was screaming?".

"Ya. I'm surprised that noone called the cops. Sounded like someone was killing you.", he said while handing her the glass of water which she gladly accepted. The screaming made her throat feel like she swallowed sand, and washing down stung.

He sat on the coffee table and looked at her with concern. Soon she heard others coming to check on her, feeling guilty, Noriko got up and bowed in apology.

"Well, looks like we should start having some breakfast, ya?", Noriko looked at the clock and it was already 6:30 am. Nodding, he went to the kitchen with the other priest and started to grab their supplies. Noriko put her head in her hands and sighed, 'What is going on?!' , she thought in frustration.

After eating breakfast and cleaning up for the priests, there was a knock on the door. One of the priests answered it and saw a blur of blue tackle the man. Noriko gasped and then saw that it was one of the brothers, he was smiling and hugging the priest. The other brother walked in, he wore a black coat and glasses, smiling at his brothers actions, he looked around spotted Noriko. She looked back and then quickly looked down at the floor and bowed. He bowed in respect and walked towards her.

"Hello, my name is Yukio Okumura. Who might you be?", he asked while holding out his hand.

"Um. Noriko Hitomi. Nice to meet you.", she said while shaking his hand.

There was a sound of bodies hitting the floor and saw that the priests had dog piled Rin, and he was enjoying every minute of it, saying hi to them while they still piled on him. Both Noriko and Yuiko smiled. Nagatomo walked into the room and seeing the two boys put a smile on his face. After everyone had said their greetings, Yukio brought Nagatomo and Noriko to the kitchen and sat them down. Yukio asked Noriko so many questions about her life, that it felt like he was prosecuting her for murder. Once the questioning was over, Yukio took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, making Noriko nervous. All of a sudden she felt arms on her head and heavy weight that made her look up. It was Rin, he looked down and smiled at her with his pointed canine teeth and big eyes.

"Hi! And who might you be?", Rin asked as he stared at her, making Noriko uncomfortable.

"I'm Noriko Hitomi. It's nice to meet you Rin Okumura.", she replied with a smile.

Rin looked down at her and then to his brother, winking, he walked to the other available seat at the table and made himself comfortable. She looked from Yukio to Rin, and then back again, they had the same raven black hair and blue eyes, but totally different personalities; like yin and yang.

"So, what's the plan?", Rin asked while looking at his brother.

"We will bring her to True Cross, and from then on, we will see what the president has to say about it.", Yukio said while cleaning his glasses and putting them back on.

"Ok, but how long is that going to be? I want to be able to hang out with the guys and have a good old family dinner. Oh, I can cook everyone's favorite, Sukiyaki!", Rin said with excitement. A few of the priests yelled in agreement, making everyone smile. Yukio nodded and took off his coat, Noriko was surprised that he was wearing the school uniform that she assumed to be True Cross, while Rin was wearing a light blue jacket, and a pair of jeans; not to mention his sword that he never put down.

"Ya, we can stay here for a few days. I just have to call the president and tell him our arrangement has changed. Excuse me.", Yukio said while getting up and using his cell phone and politely going outside to not bother anyone.

Noriko looked down at her nails and started to pick at them out of a nervous habit. For some reason, it was odd being with Rin and Nagatomo, and she didn't know why. Rin and Nagatomo talked while Noriko listened to their conversation, not knowing what to do now. When Yukio got back from his call, he said that everything would be fine and that the president will pick them all up in two days. Noriko smiled and looked at Rin, who was staring at her hair and scar.

"If you take a picture it will last longer, Rin.", Noriko said as a joke.

He just smiled and said, "It's just an amazing color, I've never seen that color on anyone besides old people. Wow! You're eyes are-", he was cut off when Yukio hit him in the back of the head.

"That was rude Rin. Anyway, shouldn't you get cooking?"

"Oh yea! I'M MAKING SUKIYAKI EVERYONE!", Rin yelled as he got up from his spot to head to the kitchen.

Noriko flinched at how loud this kid is and Yukio just sighed. Nagatomo looked at the boys and smiled, bringing back the boys was a great idea.

After having an amazing meal, cooked surprisingly by Rin, some of the priest helped with the washing the dishes while Noriko helped dry. Yukio and Rin were talking and laughing at the memories they had here. By the time everything was cleaned up, it was already 5. She decided that it would be a good idea to hang out with the boys and see what they are like. She walked in the room to see them wrestling, with Nagatomo as the referee, and all that stopped when she walked in the room. Rin had Yukio in a headlock, Rin was smiling and Yukio looked like he was struggling a bit. Rin stared at her and then made a connection.

"Hey! Why is she wearing my clothes?!", Rin said in shock, giving Yukio the opportunity to pin Rin down and win the match.

"Oh, um, well you see-", Noriko blushed and looked at the clothes she was wearing and then looked at Nagatomo for help.

Nagatomo nodded and explained to Rin Noriko's condition when she arrived at the church. When Rin finally understood, he smiled and nodded at Noriko, making her feel relieved that she didn't have to explain another story.

As the days flew by, Noriko got to learn more about the boys and about their history. Yukio and Rin had to explain to Noriko about them being Satan's children once Noriko saw Rin's tail. Noriko didn't mind since she was a daughter of an angel, and making that connection made her look back on the day they met and why she got an odd sense from them; angel and demon. The morning when they had to leave, their ride, which was one of Mephisto's pink limos, was already there and waiting for everyone to say their goodbyes. All three of the kids hugged all the priests and thanked them, promising them that they will come back and visit.

The ride to the school was pretty long, Rin was asleep and snoring on one side of the limo, Yukio was reading, and Noriko was sightseeing the town from the window. The place was like a scene from Howl's Moving Castle , so many buildings were scrunched together in such a small space. Noriko wasn't a really big fan of big cities, too many people made her nervous and claustrophobic, but for this place, she might have to just get used to it. Yukio glanced up from his book and saw Noriko's expression.

"Ya it's a really big place, but it is truly amazing.", he said while looking out the window to the same scenery.

Noriko nodded and said, "I can't wait to explore it, it looks like it would be fun."

Her and Yukio continued the ride in silence, well, all except for Rin's snoring. When the limo stopped and they were in the front of the school, Yukio was the first one out, Noriko was going to go next but she looked down at Rin and saw that he was still completely asleep. She put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a good shake. Nothing. Noriko sighed and then caught a glimpse of his tail flopping around on the seat, 'He must be having a good dream. Sorry dude.' Noriko thought while she reached and grabbed his tail, and with a powerful yank, Rin woke up with a scream.

"What was that for bright eyes!?", Rin said in annoyance as he rubbed his tail and got out of the limo.

"You sleep like a rock Rin. How else am I supposed to wake you?", Noriko said in the same tone Rin did.

By the time they were all out of the limo, Rin and Noriko were glaring at each other, while Yukio was walking to the building. For payback, Rin pinched her nose as hard as he could and ran up the staircase and all the way to the huge doors that opened up to the school. Noriko stood there in amazement that he actually did that, and before she could go and chase him, Yukio grabbed her arm and shook his head, making Noriko a little pissed that Rin was at the door and making faces at them.

"How do you deal with this?", she asked Yukio once he let go of her arm.

"By giving him homework, and making his life a living hell when he really ticks me off.", he said while they walked up the stairs and met Rin at the top.

They walked in the building and headed towards Mephisto's office. The hallway was extravagant, the walls seemed to touch the heavens, the paintings were absolutely magnificent, and the smell of sweets entered your nose that made all of your senses spazz out. They walked through what seemed like the whole building, and once they actually stood at the door of the president, Noriko had to take a long breath. Yukio nocked and they were allowed in by a very interesting voice.

When they walked in the office, there was a huge desk that looked like it belonged to royalty and books in every nook and cranny of the walls, yet, it seemed to be missing something. They looked around the room and the president was nowhere in sight. But then laughter was heard from above their heads, and looking up to see a flamboyant man with purple hair in a very funny outfit seemed to fit the deal. Noriko jerked back when the president was in her face.

"Wow, what a magnificent specimen we have here. What might your name be beautiful?", Mephisto asked in a perverted way that sent chills up her spine in a bad way.

He floated down, bowed in front of her and kissed her hand, she tried her hardest not to be rude, so she bit the inside of her cheek and said, "Um, Noriko Hitomi, sir."

Mephisto smiled his evil smile and said, "My, my, the daughter of the once heroic angel is now in my office. What a pleasure. And why are you here madam?", while stepping back and walking around her like a vulture.

Noriko gulped, she didn't like this what so ever, "My parents sent me to you. We were attacked by high level demons and my father sent me to you for safety. He said that you would understand."

Noriko refused to look into Mephisto's eyes, so she looked at the ground, hoping that he would understand. And while all of this was happening, the Okumura brothers stood back and watched.

Mephisto laughed and said, "And why should I help you. We are enemies, you do know that, correct?"

Noriko nodded and said in a very firm and strong tone, "Sir, I have great power that can be of use to you. Both of my parents taught me in secrecy what they learned from this school, I'm as good as any exwire here and some teachers... and I have no where else to go, the demons burnt down everything I had, and I refuse to have my mother's side in danger because of me, and you know of my father.

She looked up to see that he was sitting on his desk and looking at her with his hand stroking his goatee.

"It is true that your father and I were good friends before he left the school to take care of his family... and we did make a promise."

Mephisto got up and walked towards Noriko and stood in front of her. She wore the clothes of Rin, and were wearing bigger shoes that her feet couldn't fill.

"With the sad look on your face I can't really resist. Well, that, and the fact that an angel descendant is asking a demon for help, priceless. Ok, you can live with the Okumura brothers and attend my wonderful school! But, you are going to have to work your way through you know that right?"

Noriko smiled and nodded, but then curiosity smacked her in the face.

"I greatly appreciate this sir... but what are you planning for me to do as work?", she knew that she was going to regret this, but she has no other choice.

Mephisto smiled and snapped his fingers. They were now inside an otaku closet and anime girls were everywhere. He was smiling with delight when he said, "You are going to be my little maid when I need you. You will be modeling clothes, cleaning up and sorting through my collection. Oh! This is absolutely marvelous!"

They were sent back to the office and Noriko was already feeling what was left of her pride just shrivel away.

"One more thing, you need new clothes. I don't want to see you in those ratty clothes ever again! Understood?. And you will be attending classes with the twins and take courses like the rest of the exwires."

She nodded and was surprised when she was handed a check for ¥ 44505.00 ($450 in US dollars).

"Don't talk to me until you are in something more decent. Now shoo, scram!", he said in excitement.

When they were all outside the president's door, Rin started busting up laughing. Noriko was going to hit him but forgot how once she was handed this much money to go spend on essentials. Thank goodness Yukio hit Rin for her and they dragged Noriko's frozen body outside.

Once the sun hit her face, Noriko was now conscious.

"Did... Did that just happen?", she asked in amazement.

"Yep! I'm so jealous! I wish I was given that sort of money when I got here." , Rin said in a pout.

She was about to respond when Yukio's device went off on his pocket.

"Sorry guys, I have to go back to work. I will see you both in class tomorrow."

"Wait... Does that mean I don't have to go to class today?", Rin asked in excitement.

"Correct. Go take Noriko around so she can buy new clothes and essentials. Have fun." And with that, Yukio left them in the dust to go back to work.

Noriko looked at the check in her hands and then at Rin, who looked like he was given a gift from God himself.

"So, I don't know about you, but I could go for a nice ice cream. It's really hot out here. My treat." Noriko said while waving the check in the air. Rin smiled and grabbed her wrist and they were off.

'This is going to be a long day of shopping', Noriko thought in dread. She never really liked to shop, but when she is ordered to, she will.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Noriko's day mostly consisted of Rin and her walking, her trying on clothes, and spending the money that Mephisto had given her for supplies. She felt really bad for Rin, he had to be patient and wait for Noriko to try on clothes and carry her bags. When she was trying on clothes, she felt the gun escaped her pants, though everything, she somehow forgot about it. So once she agreed to the clothes, she secretly hid the gun at the bottom of the heap of clothes and continued on. Hours had past and now the sun was setting so they decided that they were done, now Noriko finally had clothes that fit her and shoes that didn't fall off . Now they were walking back to Okumura's place with a lot of bags in hand and exhausted looks on their faces. Noriko was starting to get to know Rin more and she enjoyed his company. Once they were at the front of the huge building, Rin opened the door and let Noriko in.

"Oh geez, I'm so ready for bed! Shopping really wipes you out huh?" Rin said as they walked up the stairs.

Noriko nodded and continued with Rin. Once they were at the kitchen, they set their things down and collapsed on the chairs. As Noriko sat on the chair she began to rub her neck and sighed, all of a sudden she heard the sound of plates hit a counter. She looked up to see a little demon, with a pitchfork as a tail, big purple ears and nose, yellow eyes, tiny horns on it's head and big hands for it's small body, putting the last specialties on whatever it had just cooked. Noriko reached for her gun that was supposed to be in the back of her pants, but didn't feel anything there, then she remembered she put it in one of the thousand bags she had. She looked at Rin and saw him petting the demon and smiling.

"This here is the buildings chef, well besides me, his name is Ukobach. Don't worry, he's very kind and brilliant in cooking. Oh, and this here is Kuro, my familiar." Rin said as a black cat jumped up on Rin's shoulder and started to nudge his face. The cat looked normal except for it's two tail and a set of tiny horns on it's head.

Noriko looked at the scene and took it all in, "Um... It's nice to meet you both." she said as she got up and bowed to them. The cat looked at Rin and then back at the girl, Ukobach clapped his hands and disappeared in the kitchen. She heard Rin laugh and saw him carrying the three plates back to the table with the cat still on his shoulder.

"What's so funny?" Noriko asked as she was handed her plate of curry.

"Well Kuro says you have a funny sent and that he's just curious so he's asking a bunch of questions." Rin said as he set down his plate and one for Kuro, who jumped off of Rin's shoulders, meowed as a thank you, and dove into his food.

Noriko shrugged it off, said thanks, and dove in. Her taste buds went nuts, it was so delicious that she didn't realize that she was moaning and Rin was blushing. She finally realized what she was doing and she quickly dropped her spoon and made a small squeak.

"I'm so sorry! It's just that there's such amazing flavor and-" she said in a haste and started to blush from embarrassment.

"Haha, it's ok, that was the same reaction I had when I tasted his cooking." Rin said as he continued to eat.

Noriko looked down at her food and started to slowly eat again, the atmosphere was now really awkward. As they finished their food, Rin politely took the plates and set them in the sink. Noriko sighed and then she heard footsteps coming up the stairs, it was Yukio back from work. He looked at all the bags and then to Noriko.

"I see you got what you needed."

"And a bit more. I still have some left over for food later on."

"Wow. Alright then, shall we show you to your room?" Yukio asked as he started to grab some bags.

Noriko got up and collected what she could, and the rest was collected by Rin. They headed upstairs while Yukio explained the room arrangement.

"Since you are a female, I suspect you will want your privacy, so you will have your own room and bathroom to yourself."

"Wow, is that really necessary? I really appreciate it though, so thank you very much." Noriko said as they finally hit the next floor. They walked to her room and opened the door to see that it had been furnished and the bed had sheets on them with a set of pillows. They set down the bags while Noriko looked around the room. There were some books on the bookshelf and the desk had been supplied with notebooks and other essentials.

"Looks like Mephisto had someone furnish and supply you with the essentials." Yukio said as he looked around as well.

"If you get scared of the dark, you can come to our room if you want." Rin said in a perverted voice.

"Ya sure, don't hold your breath though." Noriko said as she sat on the comfy bed.

"Well we will let you get situated. The bathroom is a few doors down to your right. Since you have already completed high school courses, your main objective will just be cram school. It starts at 2pm and your schedule is the same as Rin's, so just follow him and I hope you both will be there on time." said Yukio, with Rin at his side.

As they were about to leave Noriko asked in a shy voice, "Um... I'm sorry to ask you this but I have two questions."

They looked at her and waited for the questions.

"Um, don't I need a uniform?"

As Yukio was about to speak, there was a puff of pink smoke on her desk and they all looked to see the school attire on laying there in a neat fold.

"Ok, well then, is there a radio somewhere? I kinda need music to stay alive."

Another puff of pink smoke was on her desk that had a radio and an iPod with a charger and earphones. Noriko was about to say something else when there was a pink puff that had a laptop.

"Come on Mephisto! This is totally unfair!" Rin yelled into the air.

"Well I wanted to stop by and see how she was doing and I wanted to surprise her." Mephisto said behind Yukio and Rin, which made both of them jump.

Noriko got up from the bed and asked, "Why are you doing this for me? We are enemies right? You should be making my life a living hell, not give me gifts. You should be doing that for these two." she said as she pointed at the brothers.

Mephisto smiled and said, "Well they don't have to work directly for me like you do darling, and I'm going to enjoy you working for me so why not give my pet here some stuff."

He walked over to her in his same creepy attire and smile and put an arm around her shoulder. The boys stood there in helplessness for her, Yukio waved and walked away, while Rin did the same.

"Guys! Don't leave me here with him!" she said as she reached out for their shadows.

Mephisto laughed and said, "Well my darling, do you like what I've done for you? It's not quite my taste but I assumed it was what you liked, since you pretty much bought all black and blue clothing", all while making himself a chair in the air and having a disappointing look on his face, "But you are working for me so I guess we are even right now."

Noriko looked at him and then at the room, he was right. He was giving all of this as a trade for her working for him.

"Thank you so much Mephisto. I will repay you when I work for you, I promise." Noriko said with all honesty.

When he smiled his creepy smile, he bid her adieu and left her to her room alone. She turned on the radio that he had given her, blasting the music, she started to unpack her clothes and fold them into the drawers. She bought two packages of underwear, three bras of her size, pajamas and socks. When she was done with that, she hung up her black clothing in the closet. She had bought two light black long sleeve shirts, eight black t-shirts, four with a design on them and four with nothing. Her pants consisted of five black pants, four blue jeans, and two shorts, and two belts. Now she was able to put her new pair of black combat boots on the floor of the closet along with a pair of converse. While dancing to the beat, she was putting her accessories in a neat pile in a small box that she found in the bedroom. She had bought some silver studs and hanging earrings, along with a small bracelet that had lyrics and a wing on the side, and finally a few pairs of fingerless gloves next to the jewlery.

She had made a pretty big pile of garbage from the packaging, so she decided to go find a trash can, she grabbed the pile and stuffed all of it in one bag. Noriko walked down stairs to see Rin playing with Kuro on the floor.

"Hey guys, where is the trash can?"

"It's outside on the side. I will show you." Rin said as he got up and lead her to the trash can, with Kuro following them.

Once Rin showed her the location of the big dumpster, she threw her bag of garbage in and sighed.

Noriko thanked Rin and they started to walk back to the building's entrance, he smiled at her and asked, "So, are you almost done with getting everything situated?"

"Yep, I just need to situate my bathroom supplies and then I'm done." Noriko said as she stretched her arms over her head and sighed.

When it came time to separate, Noriko looked back at Rin and hugged him out of nowhere. Rin stood there in shock and then hugged her back.

"I can't thank your family and Mephisto enough. I would be wandering the streets... or worse, if you guys didn't come when you did. And for that I thank you Rin." she said as she pulled away from the hug.

Rin smiled and blushed, nervously scratching behind his neck he said, "It's no problem really... and I know what you are going through. You've been so strong, and if you need anyone to talk to, you can come to me." He put a hand on her shoulder for reassurance and smiled.

Noriko started to tear up and she nodded, "Thanks Rin... It is tough, but I know my... our parents... went out strong to save us so we can continue our lives." she said as she wiped away her tears.

They said their goodnights and went to their separate floors. Noriko took the radio into the bathroom, as well as her supplies, and decided to take a shower. Once she situated her supplies, she turned on the water and sighed as the hot water hit her skin and seemed to wash all her problems away. When she was done, she got dressed in her new pajamas and headed back to her room while toweling off her hair. Sitting on the bed and brushing out the knots in her hair, her mind went a hundred miles an hour and thought about her parents, what tomorrow was going to be like, if she was going to meet any new friends, the list went on and on. She looked at the clock and saw that it was already late, so she decided to go to bed. Even with all of the things running through her mind, sleep seemed to have more power over her.

The next morning she woke up to an unfamiliar surrounding. There was an annoying buzzing sound that woke her up, the sun was shining bright through the blinds, and the smell of freshly cooked breakfast ran through her nostrils. She got out of bed, turned off the alarm on the radio, put her hair in a ponytail and walked downstairs to see who was cooking the delicious smelling food. When she was finally at the kitchen, it seemed like she was the first one up because there was no one at the table and Kuro looked lonely, until Noriko came in. She looked at the cat who was laying on the floor and saw it come towards her.

Kneeling down, she looked at the cat's big eyes and asked, "Morning Kuro."

Kuro sniffed the hand that she put out and started to rub his face in her hands, making Noriko smile. She continued to pet Kuro and decided to pick him up and see who was cooking in the kitchen. Kuro happily meowed as he layed in her arms like a baby. When she saw the little demon cooking she wondered if Rin got up and left for school already, it was already 8am. Noriko walked out of the kitchen and decided to go see if the boys had left, with Kuro still in her arms purring away. She walked down the hallway and wondered which was Rin's. Kuro seemed to have heard a noise and decided to jump out of Noriko's arms and walk towards a room. When Kuro finally sat at a door and began meowing, she took that as a hint that Rin was still in there.

Knocking on the door she asked, "Rin, are you in there? Ukobach is making breakfast."

When she didn't hear an answer, she found it was unlocked and slowly opened the door. Kuro ran in and she followed, only to hear a light snoring of Rin sleeping. Kuro jumped up on Rin and started hitting him in the face. Noriko was about to take the cat away when all of a sudden he woke up.

"Damn it Kuro! I was having an awesome dream and you ruined it at the best part!" Rin said in annoyance as he rubbed his eyes. Kuro seemed to be talking to Rin because he yelled, "WHAT!?" and saw Noriko standing there.

"Um, morning. I wasn't sure if you had already left for school and-" she was cut off when Rin started going crazy and trying to get dressed.

Noriko quickly left the room with a little blush on her face and went back to the kitchen so see that the food had been done. She took her plate, said thanks, and began to eat. About three minutes later, Rin came barging out of the room with his school uniform somewhat on. He had one arm in the black coat and his white shirt was half way buttoned up, and to top it off, he still had bed hair and a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. Noriko was surprised by his attire and started to giggle, he didn't hear it though because he was so occupied on collecting his bag and sword together. Once he left the building, Noriko saw Kuro walk into the kitchen and began to eat what Ukoback had made him.

Noriko was lucky not to be Rin at that moment, and lucky that she had finished high school before everything started to go wrong. Once she was done with her food, she decided to wash her plate and go to her room and read one of the books that were on the bookshelf. Once she got comfortable and started reading, the hours passed by and she was now getting ready for her exorcist classes. Noriko looked at the school uniform and sneered at the skirt. She never wore skirts or dresses for that matter, but then she remembered that she had to deal with Mephisto after she got settled in. Sighing, she grabbed her black pants, the white shirt similar to what Rin was wearing before he left, and the bow that resembled part of the girls uniform. Looking in the mirror, she put her earrings in, put on her bracelet and converse on. Letting her long silver hair down and fixing her bangs so they swooped to the side of her face. Putting on a little mascara and chapstick, deodorant and a little squirt of perfume, she looked over herself and was ready. Collecting her bag, she headed out the door and started to walk to the building of the school.

The walk there was pretty far but she enjoyed it, the breeze felt good and there was a small amount of clouds in the sky. When she got to the school, she wondered where she would met Rin, and now she was panicking a little, they had never discussed where they were going to meet up. Noriko groaned, having some kids look at her strangely, and started to walk to Mephisto's office to ask where the classes were. To others, she looked like a lost student trying to find her classes, and they were correct.

As Noriko was heading up the stairs, she felt and hand on her shoulder and Rin saying, "Class is the other way, Noriko."

She looked back at him and sighed in relief, "Oh thank God it's you Rin! You saved me from having to go to Mephisto's office for directions."

Rin smiled and started to lead her out of the building. She didn't question him on making sure they were going the right way because she trusted him... and prayed that he had a good memory. She was walking besides Rin when he asked, "What's with your uniform? I thought all females were supposed to wear the skirts."

Noriko sighed and replied, "Well I'm not a fan of skirts, and who knows what he's going to dress me up as. So I thought that my pants would be better for me... plus I feel more comfortable in these than that God awful skirt."

Rin laughed and before they knew it, they were on a road.

"Um Rin, are you sure you're going the right way?" Noriko asked.

He nodded and all of a sudden, a white dog was sitting between two of the light poles. She had a bad feeling about this. And her feelings were correct, because the dog turned into the one person she didn't want to see today at all.

"What are you wearing my dear? I wanted to see you in that cute school girl outfit." Mephisto said in a disappointed tone.

"Well I thought that since I'm your maid, that I could make a few adjustments."

Mephisto sighed and said, "Very well, here", he tossed her a key and continued, "This key is the same as Rin's, it will take you to this location for your cram school. All you have to do is put it in a random door and poof, you arrive here. And I almost forgot, you are going to need this when I beckon for you," he tossed her a cell phone and smiled, "Well my dear, I do hope you have a... wonderful day. Chou!" And with that he disappeared with his pink smoke.

Rin walked to the ledge and jumped over it, Noriko put the cell phone and key in her pocket and ran to the edge and looked over to see Rin holding open a green door and looking up at her.

"Come on! Class is starting!"

Noriko jumped down and walked through the door, following Rin once he closed the cellar door.

Soon they were standing in front of a colorful door and Noriko took a deep breath and nodded to Rin who was looking at her for reassurance. When he opened the door and they walked in, she saw Yukio writing stuff on the board, looking at them as they walked in.

"Ah, I see you finally arrived. Rin, you're lucky that you have our new student today or else I would have given you detention for being late." Yukio said as he set his stuff down and gave Rin a stern look.

Noriko looked at Rin and then down at the ground. Once Rin was seated next to a small girl with blonde hair and green eyes, Yukio turned to the class and said, "Ok class, as you can see we have a new student today. Her name is Noriko Hitomi, treat her well", he patted Noriko's back and said, "You can have a seat wherever you would like."

Noriko bowed to the class and looked up. The class consisted of six kids, not including herself, Rin, and Yukio for that matter. There was a kid with blonde hair in the back who had a puppet on his hand. A bald kid with glasses, a kid who had pink hair and looking at her with hearts in his eyes, and then a kid with a blonde streak in his dark hair looking at his book and not caring for the new kid. Then a girl with weird eyebrows and dark purple hair was sitting behind the blonde and Rin. Noriko saw a seat in the far back and walked to her destination without looking at anyone else. Once she was settled, class continued and she was already familiar with what Yukio was teaching. She sighed and decided to pull out her notebook and sketch, taking some notes here and there when she wanted to look busy or to remind herself about the lesson's objective.

Before she knew it, the students were starting to leave, collected her stuff and saw Rin talking to the blonde. Noriko got up and walked towards them, only to be stopped by the pink haired kid.

"Hey there gorgeous, you're so beautiful that you made me forget my pickup line."

Noriko laughed and was about to reply when all of a sudden, a deep voice came from the side and she saw that it was the blonde streak guy. Getting a better look at him, he was actually very handsome, despite the rugged bad boy look. He looked at the pink haired kid with a pissed off look.

"Shima! Leave her alone, and quit it with the cheesy pickup lines."

The bald kid stood next to the skunk kid and replied, "He's right Shima, give her some space, she just got here. And you are a monk, you need to work on your practices rather than women."

Noriko noticed the skunk boy looking at her from head to toe, making her feel uncomfortable. To answer her prayers, Rin came to the group and said, "Hey guys! You seemed to have met my friend here Noriko. Noriko this is Renzō Shima," he said pointing to the pink haired kid, "Ryuji 'Bon' Suguro", pointing to the skunk kid, who looked pissed off, "and Konekomaru Miwa."

Noriko bowed and said, "It's nice to meet you, my name is Noriko Hitomi."

Konekomaru bowed back and said, "It's nice to meet you as well. And we are sorry for our friend here, he has a bad habit of hitting on women rather that hitting the books."

Noriko giggled and nodded.

"Wow! Even her voice is beautiful!" Shima said with big hearts in his eyes and drool dripping from the side of his mouth.

"Damn it Shima! Quit it!", Ryuji said while smacking the back of Shima's head.

"Um, excuse me", said a small voice beside Rin, "my name is Shiemi Moriyama." the girl bowed to Noriko, who bowed back replying, "Nice to meet you."

"Ok now that we are done with the greetings, let's head to class." Ryuji said while dragging Shima away by the back of his collar with Konekomaru following them. They all went off to their next class and it was right across the hall. As everyone got situated, Noriko took the seat in the back again and sighed. When the teacher came in, the class had began. Halfway through, Rin was asleep and Ryuji looked pissed off, which amused Noriko who was watching it in the back.

'This is going to be an interesting experience.' Noriko thought as she took some notes


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The next day Noriko and Rin were outside the classroom with the rest of the students, wondering where their instructor was. Noriko was resting against the wall while listening to Rin and Shiemi talk about the homework that they had to do last night, and of course Rin didn't know that they had homework. Noriko smiled and looked around to see Shima wink at her. She rolled her eyes and then looked down at the ground, wondering what they were going to be doing today. After ten minutes of waiting, Yukio had walked in the building.

"Sorry class, we have an emergency disturbance at the graveyard. There has been a few ghosts that have been harassing the living and we need to put them at peace. I will split you into groups of two.

Okumura and Moriyama. Kamiki and Shima. Miwa and Nemu. and Suguro and Hitomi. Now let's head out quickly."

Everyone was lead to the outside of the building to see a small bus waiting for them. Once everyone got in the bus, they all sat with their partner that they were assigned. Noriko was looking outside the window when she felt the seat get heavier next to her. She looked to see Ryuji Suguro folding his arms and sighing.

"Um... hey." she said shyly.

Ryuji turned to her and replied, "Hey."

Once the bus started to take off, Yukio said to the class that it was going to take them about forty five minutes to get their, everyone groaned. Noriko looked out the window and sighed, 'I wish I had my iPod with me right now.'

"So... How are you settling in at True Cross?" He asked.

Noriko shrugged and replied, "It's fine I guess."

There was an awkward silence and she started to fidget with her fingernails.

Ryuji looked at the girl next to him and saw that she seemed nervous, and then something caught his eye, she had tattoos on both the insides of her wrist.

"What do those mean?"

She looked at him and saw how close they were, and was also able to get a closer look at his face. He had a nice looking goatee starting to grow out, his eyes were dark brown and he his face had a sense of strength, with the skin that was kissed by the sun.

Ryuji too was able to see Noriko's face, since she would always hide it with her hair in her face or looking down at the ground. She had a scar on the side of her right cheek, her eyes were a stunning silver that felt like she could see into his soul and heart. A light blush on her cheeks seemed to make her more alive with her pale skin.

'Wow... She's actually really stunning...Wait! I can't be thinking about that! We are on a mission.' Ryuji thought as he scratched the back of his neck and cleared his throat.

Noriko blushed as well and said, "Well... the one on my left represents... power, while the other one represents protection."

Ryuji looked at the tattoo's and never saw anything like it, all the shapes and different language seemed like it was a seal for something.

"Did they hurt?" he asked.

"A little, but it was worth it. So what's with your hair?" she said to him with a smile on her face.

Ryuji blinked and started to blush, "Well, um, I needed change and wanted to be like a bad boy I guess."

Noriko giggled, making him blush more.

"Why are you laughing!?" he asked.

"Well for a bad boy, you seem to be the teachers pet."

Ryuji folded his arms and huffed, "Ya so what? I'm serious about being an exorcist. And what about you miss dark and mysterious, what's with your hair?"

Noriko stared at him and turned her body so that it was facing his.

"Well unlike you it's natural, I was born with this hair and..." Noriko drifted off and memories started to flow about her being bullied for the color.

Ryuji saw her face go from anger to sadness in a split second, instantly making him feel bad.

"Hey, look... I'm sorry if it's bringing up bad memories. Truce?" he said while holding out his hand.

Noriko smiled up at him and shook his hand. All of a sudden, the driver took a hard right turn, making Noriko and Ryuji crash into each other, and next thing they knew, both of them were on the bus floor. Noriko was inches from his face and the both blushed like crazy. Her hands were on his toned chest and his arms were around her shoulder and waist. Quickly getting up and sitting back down, they saw that some of the other students were also recovering from the hard turn.

After that, the rest of the way was quiet. If Noriko glanced at him, she would blush, and the same for him if he looked at her. Once they finally arrived at the graveyard, they were told to put the spirit at peace and come back to the bus when completed. And with that, collecting some supplies, everyone went their separate ways. The sun was just starting to set and the wind was starting to stop.

Ryuji was looking around to see if he could see anything, and Noriko the same. When they looked at each other, they would quickly look away.

Noriko thought that this would be a distraction to the mission, so she decided to be the first one to talk.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened back there."

"It's alright, we should be blaming the driver and not each other. So what do you think these ghost's would be doing haunting people in broad daylight?" he said to get their thought together.

Noriko shrugged and said, "It could be anything really, wether they never got to say their goodbyes to not knowing that they are dead."

It started to get darker and walking around the gravestones was becoming a task, trying not to run into them. Ryuji received text messages from his friends and they too haven't found anything. After walking for awhile, they decided to stop and see if any activity would happen. Noriko looked around and saw that it was going to be difficult to find these ghosts.

She sighed and sat on the ground, "This is going to take forever."

Ryuji crossed his arms and looked around, "We just need to keep our eyes open for anything suspicious."

Noriko cracked her neck and looked at the tombstone in front of her. She ran her hand across the words and frowned. The mother had past away from a disease at such a young age, leaving a husband and child behind. Noriko got up and listened carefully for anything, but it was dead silent.

Then an idea popped in her head. She quickly grabbed chalk and started to write a spell to lure ghosts in. Ryuji watched her in wonder of what she was doing.

"Um... What are you doing?" he asked while looking at her work.

"It's a spell that will lure ghosts in. Once it does that, we chant a chapter from the Bible to put the restless spirits at rest. I can't believe I forgot this!" Noriko said as she was finishing up the spell.

Ryuji was about to reply, but then a strong wind started to form around the spell.

"Alright, once we get some ghosts in the spell, follow me if you know the chapter."

All of a sudden, ghosts were appearing in the circle with angry looks on their faces. The wind was increasing and seemed to be sucking everything in it's path. Ryuji watched in amazement as the ghost stood there and didn't move. He listened to Noriko and surprisingly didn't know what chapter she was reciting from. Ryuji stood there and watched as she did all the work, making him pissed off that she knew something so advanced when she was a new student.

As she finished the recitation, a bright light was emanating from the ghosts and then they slowly disappeared with smiles on their faces. Noriko smiled and opened her eyes to see Ryuji standing there with a very pissed off look. Ignoring him, she brushed the chalk away with her foot, making sure that it wasn't on the ground anymore. When she was done, Ryuji grabbed her shoulder and spun her around quickly. Their faces were inches apart, making her blush and look away.

"What the hell was that!?" he yelled in her face.

"A spell to-"

"I know that! But that is way too advanced for us! Who taught you how to do that!?" he said while his hold on her shoulder increased.

Noriko grabbed his wrist and pressed on the pressure points that made you lose feeling in your hand. He grunted and took hold of his hand in pain, "What the fuck was that for you bitch!?"

Noriko didn't answer him and walked towards where they entered. He screamed in frustration and ran his hands through his hair to try and calm him down. She ignored his fit and left him behind, she was very lucky that her secret didn't come out or else they would all be in trouble.

When she returned to base, she saw Shiemi and Rin sitting on the ground chatting. When Rin saw Noriko, he smiled and waved her over, but was stopped when Yukio came in front of her.

"Where is Mr. Suguro?" he asked.

"Having a temper tantrum." she said casually.

"You're supposed to arrive with your partner Ms. Hitomi. Now go back to go and find him." he said while giving her a stern look.

She looked at him in bewilderment and was about to speak when all of a sudden, Ryuji came through the gate with a scowl on his face.

"There, happy?" Noriko asked.

She didn't wait for a reply and walked over to Rin and Shiemi.

"Ok. How the hell did you two manage to finish before anyone else?"

"Well, I used a plant that lures spirits with a light. Then released them when we found our way back to base." Shiemi said with a smile.

Rin sat back and smiled, "Yep, that's Shiemi for ya. She knows her plant stuff like the back of her hand." his comment made her blush like crazy.

Noriko smirked at the two and said, "Oh, so she did all the work while you picked your nose?"

"Hey! I did not! I helped her find our way back while she held the plant!" Rin said in defense.

Noriko nodded and laid on her back, now all they had to do was wait for the others. She put her hands behind her head and looked over to see Ryuji glaring at her. Noriko quickly looked away and then closed her eyes to get rid of the stress that she had encountered when Suguro was interrogating her.

Meanwhile, Ryuji walked to Yukio and asked to talk to him in private, which Yukio accepted. When they were away from the group, Ryuji told Yukio about what he had encountered with Ms. Hitomi. Yukio's expression changed for a split second and then back to normal.

"I understand Mr. Suguro. I will speak with her and ask whom she is being taught by. That sort of spell is for high ranked exorcists only." Yukio said while he cleaned his glasses off with a cloth.

Ryuji bowed and then went back to the group keeping his distance from Noriko.

As the rest of the group was coming back with completing the mission, everyone boarded the bus and headed back to the campus. Noriko was in the far back again, she enjoyed the empty seats around her, no one dared to disturb her. Rin sat with Shiemi and Ryuji with his two friends. Shima sat in front of Ryuji and Konekomaru, turning around in his seat and resting his arms on the seat.

"Soo, Bon... how was it working with Hitomi? Did she hold onto your arm for protection from the ghosts? Or-" he was cut off when Ryuji glared at him.

"Shut up Shima. I can't stand that chick, she's all full of secrets. And I didn't ask you about your mission with Izumo, so sit down and shut up!" he said in anger.

Shima blushed at his comment and sat down. Ryuji looked back at Noriko and saw that she was resting her head against the window.

'Freak', he thought while he looked back and enjoyed the ride.

When it was over, everyone collected their stuff and exited the bus. When Yukio gave them homework to do for tonight, Rin groaned. After that, everyone went their separate ways to their dorms.

Noriko was quiet the whole way to their building, making Rin nervous.

"So... how was it working with Ryuji?"

"Don't care.", she said in a monotone voice, then she remembered something, "How was it working with Shimei? Since she is your crush and all."

Rin tripped and fell on his face at Noriko's comment.

"What! How... But...-"

"Rin, I sit in the back. It gives me a better look at the whole class. And how you flirt with her a lot. Why don't you just ask her out?"

Rin got up and brushed the dirt off of his clothes and continued to walk with her with a blush on his face.

"Well... I don't know. I mean, she likes Yukio too..." Rin frowned.

Noriko slapped his back, making him jump and yelp in pain.

"She likes you Rin, trust me. She doesn't look at Yukio with the way she looks at you. It's like you take her to cloud nine when you just sit next to her or talk to her."

Rin smiled and blushed, he didn't say anything the whole way back.

When they finally got back to the building, they ate dinner served by Ukobach. Rin attempted the homework, while Noriko finished it. She took a shower and then went to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry this chapter gets very violent at the end. I do not own Jordin Spark's song, or the show or characters., blah blah blah. Enjoy.

Chapter Five

The next day, Noriko was walking to class with Rin and she felt her cell phone go off in her pocket. She had received a text message from Mephisto, saying that she has work to do after cram school. She groaned, Rin looked at her and asked what it was.

"Mephisto wants me to go work for him after cram school is over... who know's what he has planned for me."

Rin laughed and said, "I'm sorry Noriko, that sounds horrible, worse than Yukio giving me extra homework."

Noriko groaned and they continued to walk to class, then she remembered something.

"So... have any plans to ask Shiemi out yet?" she asked teasingly.

Rin tripped over his feet but quickly regained his balance, "Well... I'm still working on that."

When they entered the classroom, everyone took their normal spots, Noriko in the back of the class. She loved her seat because it gave her the advantage to watch over the students, as well as to do what she pleased.

Ryuji watched as Noriko took her seat in the far back while Rin sat next to Shiemi, everyone knew that Rin had a thing for the small blonde, he just had to get it through his thick skull to actually understand it. Shima watched as well and drooled, Izumo glared at him, making him stop instantly. When the teacher came into class and started the lesson, Noriko looked at the tattoo's on her wrist, touching them like they were glass. As she took notes, she noticed that Rin was drifting off, so she decided to take advantage of being in the back. Silently getting out an eraser that was almost dead from her pencil case, she waited for the right opportunity for the teacher to look away, and all hell would be lose one he did. Once he started to write stuff on the board, Noriko took aim and threw it like a baseball player and hit the bullseye. Rin screamed and grabbed the back of his head in pain. Noriko quickly sat down and looked bored. Everyone was looking at Rin and giggling.

"Damn it Noriko! What was that for!?" Rin got up from his seat and glared at her.

"Who me?" Noriko smirked.

"Mr. Okumura! Please sit down and pay attention." The instructor said, which Rin obliged.

Ryuji smiled at the incident and continued his work, Noriko the same.

Once the teacher left, Rin got up and stomped towards Noriko. She watched him with arms crossed and legs resting on the table.

"What was that for?" Rin asked angrily.

"You need to pay attention short stack, or else you will never complete your goal of defeating Satan." she said nonchalantly.

Rin grabbed the front of her collar and pulled her up until they were face to face. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched the incident.

"Just because you have an advantage in all of this doesn't make you like Yukio! You think that you are all that but you're not. You are just like me." Rin yelled in her face.

Noriko's expression never changed, getting up, she glared back at him and said, "Step down Rin."

He gritted his teeth and blue flames started to emit off of him, Noriko grabbed the hand he was using to hold her shirt, used her strength, and tossed him over her head and into the wall behind her.

Ryuji was shocked, as well as everyone else. The class gathered around the two and saw Rin looking pissed off and Noriko looking unshaken, both glaring. Rin rushed forward and Noriko easily jumped, planting her foot on his back and pushing him behind her, leaving her to easily stand. Rin ran into the desk and growled, ready to charge again. But Ryuji, Shima, and Konekomaru were holding him down.

"Calm down Rin!" Ryuji yelled, and Rin seemed to snap out of it.

Noriko looked at him and then collected her stuff and left the class, she didn't want to be in the same room as him right at the moment. Shiemi tried to stop her but Noriko walked around her and left, slamming the door behind her.

Everyone looked at eachother then at Rin, who brushed everything off and went back to his seat.

Noriko walked out of the building and decided to get Mephisto's stuff over with, so she could be alone afterward.

Knocking on his door, and entering when he allowed it, she walked in and said, "I'm early."

Mephisto was shocked to see her this early, "My dear, you are to be in class right now. What happened?"

"Rin and I had a little complication." she said while taking a seat on one of the available chairs.

Mephisto's eyes sparked with curiosity, "Oh my, tell me, what happened?"

Noriko sighed and explained, meanwhile back at class, Rin had finally calmed down and was frustrated that he had went that far with her. Something snapped in him that he couldn't understand, could it have been that they are total opposites and they finally clashed? Rin didn't know for sure, but he did know that an apology was to come out of him tonight. Ryuji on the other hand was pissed at Rin for going that far with her, he was perfectly fine and then he snapped.

When she was done explaining what happened to Mephisto, he sat back in his chair and went into thought, then his eyes went big and he asked, "My dear, when was the last time you released your wings? We all have to release our secret sometime you know."

Noriko stared at him and then rapidly stood up from her seat.

"No! I refuse to release my wings. Do you know what would happen if I did? Every demon in the area will be thirsting for my blood, and everyone else around me, risking everyone at this school!

Mephisto frowned and then shrugged, "Oh, when you put it that way you take all the fun out of it. But my fun begins now, let's get down to business shall we?" he smiled evilly, making her feel very uncomfortable.

Noriko rubbed her eyes in annoyance of the director, 'Crazy clown.' she thought.

Through the day, he had her modeling for him and cleaning in a naughty maids outfit. Noriko was about to kill him for making her wear this stuff. When her shift was completed, she got dressed in her normal clothes and left the building. While she was walking back, she saw Ryuji walking out of the library, looking tired as she was. When they made eye contact, she looked away and continued walking to her building.

"Hitomi! Wait up!" Ryuji yelled while trying to catch up to her. Noriko groaned and stopped, waiting for him to catch up with her. When he finally did, he had a book in his hands with notes stuffed inside.

"What the hell happened back there? You-" he was cut off when Noriko held a hand out and began to speak.

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself. What are you doing in the library this late anyway?"

"I could ask you the same thing idiot, why did you just come out of the main building this late?"

"I had stuff to do." she replied nonchalantly.

Ryuji was getting really pissed off now, one moment she is this shy girl, the next a complete tomboy. 'What is with this chick?' he thought as he glared at her.

Noriko noticed his glare and said, "Look, I need to go. I will see you tomorrow in class."

"Whatever." and with that, they walked their separate ways.

When Noriko entered the building, she did her normal routine and headed upstairs, she didn't see Rin anywhere. She decided to get this over with so she walked to his bedroom and saw that the door was open. Peaking in, she saw him sitting at his desk, he had his feet up and was balancing a pencil on his nose, while Kuro was asleep on his homework. Noriko knocked on the door, making him look and almost fall when he saw her. He got up and stood, scratching the back of his neck he was about to talk but she beat him to it.

"I'm sorry Rin. I lost my patience and I shouldn't have reacted the way I did." she said while bowing.

Rin was in shock, "No... I'm the one who should be apologizing, I went to far... friends?"

He had his hand out and Noriko shook it as an acceptance. They caught up with what she had missed and they worked together. After working for an hour, she went to go take a shower and go to bed.

The next day in class, Noriko and the students were all gathered around to practice taming. The boys had tried their hardest but they couldn't get the hang of it, but Izumo on the other hand called upon her harvest foxes and she thought she was the queen of sheba. The instructor told her to go and train with her familiars, and the boys were to sit and do other homework that they had to do. Shiemi always had her familiar on her shoulder, so the teacher told her the same thing he told Izumo. Now Noriko seemed to be on the spot because she saw the blonde boy with the puppet sitting with the other boys.

"Now, since your new, do you know what a familiar is?"

Noriko nodded and was then handed a piece of paper and a pen. She remembered training with her parents and the wonderful creature her father had summoned, which gave her an idea. Making marks onto the paper that were similar from what her father wrote, she started to say the chant.

"I call upon the Heaven's guardian to come protect me in battle and fight along by my side, like my father, come and serve thy master!"

A strong wind started up, blowing paperwork everywhere, and distracting everyone from what they were doing. A bright light started to escape the markings and a loud roar made everyone cover their ears except for Noriko. When it was all over, Noriko looked up to see a white lion with great white wings on it's back. It's bright yellow eyes stared into hers and she stared back. Everyone gasped and looked at the magnificent creature, it was the size of a two story house.

"Ah, the daughter of my master. My dear, why have you summoned me? I see no threat here." said the lion telepathically.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, I'm just training... it's good to see you again Ariel. You can go back to guard the gates of Heaven. But you will be called again when I need you. Good bye friend." Noriko said while bowing.

The great lion turned to a normal size of an earth lion and nudged Noriko, she was surprised by his actions.

"I'm sorry for your loss child, he was also very close to me as well. And I would be honored to serve again to my friend's child."

She teared up and buried her face in the lion's mane, it was so soft and warm. She felt the lion make a purr like sound from it's throat. She backed away and said goodbye, wiping away the tears. A soft light emitted from the lion and soon he was gone. Noriko wiped away the few tears that escaped, unaware of the people around her.

She looked up and saw everyone with their jaws almost hitting the floor.

"What?" she asked.

"That... how... impossible..." the teacher was sitting on the ground, trying to comprehend everything that just happened.

Noriko smiled and walked over to go sit down next to her bag. Everyone was speechless. After about ten minutes, everyone was starting to act like themselves. Izumo and Shiemi practiced, and the boys went back to studying, well everyone except Rin.

"Noriko... that was... AMAZING! You have to teach me how to summon a familiar!" Rin said with excitement as he sat across from her with a face of pure joy.

Ryuji glanced over to Rin and Noriko, he was also very impressed to see someone summon a creature of that much power, which triggered his curiosity more.

Noriko noticed Ryuji and smiled at him, making him blush and look away. She shrugged and started to talk to Rin. For some reason, after summoning Anxo, she seemed happier than normal.

As the day continued and classes were almost over, Noriko rested her head on her hand and stared blankly at what was in front of her. All of a sudden, all of that was gone when she saw a pink haired kid come face to face with her.

"Hey you, my friends and I were wondering if you would like to go to karaoke with us, Rin and Shiemi are going, even Izumo! Please come with us." Shima said with a pouty face.

Noriko saw Ryuji looking at her with a pissed off look, she thought that he must still be mad about the way she acted last night. She glanced at Rin who was talking with Shiemi and had his arm around her shoulder, making her blush like crazy.

Noriko smiled and said, "Ya, that sounds nice."

Shima cheered and went back to the boys to go and collect his stuff. As they were all leaving, Noriko was walking in the back of the line while everyone else was walking to the karaoke bar. When everyone arrived at the bar, they got their room and everyone was assigned a number to sing. It went from Shiemi, Konekomaru, Shima, Izumo, Ryuji, Rin, then her. Everyone was having fun, some of the boy's voices still cracked at some points, making everyone laugh. Ryuji sat next to Noriko, they didn't notice because they were so focused on the game. When it was Noriko's turn, she blushed and was handed the microphone from Rin.

"Ok Hitomi, if your voice is as beautiful as you, you have to go on a date with me." Shima said, Izumo smacked him on the back of the head, making him blush.

Noriko smiled and replied, "Sorry Shima, but I don't like the color pink, I think it's kinda gross."

Ryuji and Rin busted up laughing at Shima's face when it fell.

Noriko chose a song from Jordin Sparks. Once the beat started, she started to get into it and began to sing.

"Hurry up and wait

So close, but so far away

Everything that you've always dreamed of

Close enough for you to taste

But you just can't touch

You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet

Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it

You know you can if you get the chance

In your face and the door keeps slamming

Now you're feeling more and more frustrated

And you're getting all kind of impatient waiting."

As she continued, her small audience was captivated by her voice. She loved the lyrics to the song and it seemed to fit her life at the moment.

When she was done, she heard everyone start clapping, making her smile and do a little curtsy. Noriko took a seat next to Ryuji and now it was Shiemi's turn. Ryuji looked over at Noriko who still had a blush on her cheeks, she put her head down as she swirled her drink around. Her long silver gray hair covered her face, snapping Ryuji out of staring at Noriko. Meanwhile, she felt like someone was watching her, and right on cue, her phone went off. She picked it up and it was the devil himself, of course he had to ruin a perfectly good day.

"Sorry guys, I have to head out."

Everyone sounded disappointed, which surprised her.

"Where are you going?" Shiemi asked.

"Um... I have to... um...work?" Noriko lied.

Ryuji saw right through that one easily, he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, 'More lies.' he thought.

She collected her things and was about to head out the door, when she heard Ryuji say, "I'll go with you. It's late and I need to go study."

Noriko quickly looked back with a surprised look on her face when Ryuji collected her things and was walking to her.

"No no, you stay here and enjoy yourself, I can-" she was cut off when Ryuji flicked her forehead.

"Idiot." he said while walking out, he stood in the hall and waited for her. Noriko groaned and saw Rin wink at her, she glared at him before she closed the door.

"Go get her Bon!" Shima managed to scream out before the door closed.

Ryuji growled and yelled back at the already now closed door, "It's not like that!"

And with that, he walked out of the building with Noriko behind him. When they hit an open area where people didn't crowd the street, she walked side by side with him and drifted off into another world.

After a while, Ryuji decided to end the silence.

"So, where do you work at?" he asked while looking at her, he could tell she wasn't paying attention when she didn't respond. In frustration, he poked her head and got her attention.

"What was that for?" Noriko asked while rubbing the spot where he had poked.

"If you weren't off daydreaming, you would answer my question. Where do you work at?" he replied while tossing his bag over his shoulder and shoving his free hand in his pocket.

'Crap!', she thought.

"Um... I work at the..." when she didn't reply, he decided to get it over with.

"Stop lying, I hate people who lie. Who really texted you?" he said in annoyance

Noriko stopped walking and looked at him in shock, 'What the hell?' she thought.

"Why do you care? We barely even know each other." she said while walking past him.

Ryuji was pissed and grabbed her wrist, making her turn to look at him.

"What do you think I'm trying to do here!? What the hell is wrong with you!? The only person you let yourself be close to is that idiot and push away anyone else who even tries!"

Noriko looked down as he yelled at her, he had gotten closer while he was yelling, she could tell because she saw his shoes come into her view of the ground.

"For once can you tell me the truth!"

Noriko snapped her head up and was inches from his face, "If I showed you the truth you, me, everyone, would be hunted down and killed because of the truth and I refuse to have that happen you dick!"

Ryuji looked into her grey eyes and saw tears forming in the corners, making him feel a little guilty for making her cry. He slowly released the grip on her wrist when he saw that she was telling the truth. Noriko looked down and said in almost a whisper said, "I'm sorry Suguro, but I have to keep this a secret." And with that she walked away with tears in the corners of her eyes.

Ryuji watched her walk away, but he didn't want her to go, not just yet. He ran to catch up to her and stood in front of her to block her way.

"We aren't done talking yet."

"Am I interrupting something here?"

They both looked up to see Mephisto floating in his chair. Ryuji blinked and then looked back at Noriko who had a look of fear in her eyes.

"What are you doing here Mephisto?" Noriko asked in annoyance, she rubbed her eyes and sighed.

"Well my little servant didn't show up and I was getting worried, so I decided to go and get some air and to look for you. Then I heard ou to yelling at each other and here we are. Now what are you two arguing about? Oh, young love!"

"No, it's not that Mephisto." Noriko replied in a monotone voice, but both her and Ryuji blushed a little.

"We'll talk tomorrow Hitomi." and with that, Ryuji left.

Noriko was left with the crazy clown, who was watching us like one of his anime shows.

"Let's get this over with." she said while walking to the main building.

Mephisto snapped his fingers and they appeared in his office, Noriko sighed and sat on the chair.

"Tonight you will be sorting my books and filing my papers. Chop chop half breed." Mephisto said in a disturbingly happy tone. And to filing she went, but while she was doing her job, her mind drifted off to Ryuji.

'Why does he care about what I do? It's only been a week and we are fighting like we've known each other for our whole lives. I don't even know where the hell he's from or his past! Ugh... why is this so difficult!?' Noriko thought while she was forcefully filing Mephisto's papers.

'Should I tell him?... No, not yet. I feel like it's too early... but when will I ever tell him... or anyone for that matter, the truth?' he thoughts wandered off again and before she knew it, she was done with her work and Mephisto was telling her to leave.

As she was walking back home under the moon's light, she felt something different in the air. Stopping and looking up at the sky, she put her senses on high alert and didn't feel any demons or any human outside for that matter.

'Must just be my head.' she thought as she continued to walk to the building. As she walked in the building, she heard footsteps and then saw Rin coming around the corner with a big smile on his face.

"Noriko! Thank goodness you are finally home. You won't believe what happened after you left." Noriko stood there with her arms crossed, waiting for the bigs news from Rin.

"I asked Shiemi out and she said yes! Can you believe it!?" Rin said as he jumped in he air and yelled in excitement.

Noriko smiled and walked past him saying, "Congratulations. I'm tired, see you tomorrow. Good night." in a monotone voice.

Rin frowned and walked up next to her and asked, "Are you ok?"

Noriko sighed and stopped walking, turning to Rin, she said, "Ya... just a lot on my mind right now."

"Uh-huh... like a certain rooster boy?" Rin asked in a perverted tone.

Noriko glared at him and said, "No you idiot... It's about me... and the truth."

Rin cocked his head and then a light bulb went on, "Oh... you mean your powers?"

Noriko nodded and sat on the stairs, putting her head in her hands, "I feel like I should tell everyone... but then again if I do, the consequences will be dreadful."

Rin sat next to her and rubbed her back, trying to comfort her, he said, "I know how you feel. It was really hard keeping it a secret, then when it finally came out... everyone ignored me. But we all got past that and now we are like a big weird family. I mean come on, they have two kids of Satan in the same room as them and they don't care. The only thing they care about is who we really are inside, not what powers we have."

Noriko looked at Rin and said, "How did an amazing speech come out of you?"

"I would like to know the same thing, Rin. That was quite unique." Yukio said at the top of the stairs.

Both Noriko and Rin jumped when they heard Yukio behind them.

"He's right you know. But tell them when you feel is the right time, they will understand." Yukio said as he smiled and touched her shoulder in a reassuring way.

Noriko looked at them and smiled, "Thank you guys."

She hugged them both in a bear hug and said their goodnights. Noriko went to her room and collected her things to go take a shower. When she was done with cleaning herself off from the day, she went back to her room and went to bed.

Noriko was in her classroom talking to Rin, having a conversation she wasn't sure about. Everyone was surrounding them, joining in on the conversation, laughing with big smiles on their faces. Then all of a sudden, they were outside and her classmates were tied up by chains on a fence . They were struggling to get out, yelling for her help. When she tried to go and free them she was stopped by an unknown force. She looked down and saw that she was caught in a spell that wouldn't allow anything to get out of. Then from the corners of her eyes, she saw the same demon that was in her dreams from the monastery, the one that killed her parents. His eyes filled with the thirst of death, his smile showed his razor sharp teeth.

Noriko yelled in anger, "Let them go!"

"That won't be happening. You see, I will make a deal with you. Reveal your wings, and your true power to your friends, or let them be eaten by my babies."

Noriko looked towards her friends and saw that there were ghouls and man eating demons surrounding her friends. Fear was in their eyes, and they were expecting her to save them.

She glared back at the demon and said, "Why are you doing this you bastard!?"

The demon laughed and said, "Well you see, your parents and I had a falling out. I was trying to have some fun up here and they didn't like that. So they decided to kill everything in their path to get to me. But they also managed to kill someone very dear to me, my beloved son. And on that day, I promised your parents that I would kill them and their beloved future daughter. Here we are."

He was now in front of her and glaring at her, "Deal?"

Noriko glared back at him and then back at her friends that were about to be slaughtered if she didn't do something quick.

She was about to call upon her familiar, Anxo, but she remembered that she was trapped. She couldn't do any spells inside the circle, or outside; she was trapped.

Noriko fell on her knees and dropped her head, "Deal."

And with that, the demon lifted the spell and grabbed onto Noriko's neck. He kept her in place and said, "Release your wings!"

Noriko started the cantation and a bright light emitted from her. The tattoo's on her wrist and back that acted as a seal, lifted off her skin and turned to dust. A loud bang roared through the air and Noriko started to feel her wings escape her body. She screamed as they morphed from her body, they were beautiful, but the pain was worse. When it was done, the demon released her and she fell to the ground.

"My, my. How beautiful. But now I want more."

The demon raised her from her neck and started to rip her feathers out. She screamed in pain.

"Stop! We had a deal you ass hole!" Noriko yelled.

"I'm a demon you bitch, never make deals with us." he smirked and continued to pull. Then she heard screams from her friends and she saw the demons surrounding them were beginning to attack. They screamed in pain and yelled for help, but she couldn't help them. She began to cry and sadly watched as each of her friends were being killed. Just like the demon pulling her feathers out, the demons were killing everyone off one by one.

"NO!" Noriko yelled.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Noriko woke up to see Rin and Yukio in her room, hovering over her to check to see if she was ok. When she started to regain consciousness, she sat up and rubbed her head.

"Noriko, geez. Are you alright? You scared the crap out of me, you know that right?" Rin asked as he sat down next to her. Yukio cleaned his glasses and sat down in the chair at her desk.

"It... it was a dream?" she asked. She didn't feel the tears coming from her eyes and running down her cheek.

She hugged Rin and then got up to hug Yukio, as she continued to say, "It was just a dream."

She sat back down on her bed, grabbed the blankets and surrounded her body with it. Rin got closer and put his arms around her and rubbed her back in circles to calm her down.

"Noriko… what happened?" Yukio asked from the desk.

She shook her head and hugged her knees to her chest. Rin looked at Yukio, then back at Noriko.

Finally, she slowly started to speak. "It… it was horrible… everyone was captured… I wasn't able…"

She stopped when she remembered the horror on everyone's face, tears poured out of her eyes.

"You weren't able to what?" Rin asked in a hushed tone.

"Save everyone… you all died because of me." and with that, she lost control and started to cry her heart out.

Rin hugged her tight while Yukio walked over to the bed and sat on the other side of her. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it in a comforting way.

It seemed like an hour before she stopped crying, but the brothers never left her side. Noriko closed her eyes and fell back asleep in Rin's arms.

When Rin heard her breathing slow down, he looked down and saw she was asleep.

"That must have been one hell of a dream." Rin whispered as he slowly put her down on the bed.

"Ya, we should probably let her rest. Besides, you need to get ready for school. It's almost 7." and with that, Yukio left Rin and went to go get ready. Rin sighed and knelt down next to Noriko. He brushed her hair away from her face and wished her to get well soon, then left.

When Noriko woke up, she saw that the sun was high in the sky. Panicking, she jumped out of bed and was about to get ready when all of a sudden she saw a note on her desk from Yukio.

'I'm giving you the day off. If you want to come to class then that's fine, but I think you should rest.'

Noriko sighed and ran her hands through her long gray hair. After contemplating on whether to go to class or not, she decided that she would have nothing else to do in the dorm. So she got dressed, collected her school bag, and walked to class.

When she arrived at the building, she opened the door to her class and saw that everyone was hanging around. It was passing hour and they were waiting for the next class to start. Before Noriko could walk to her seat, Rin tackled her in a hug.

"What are you doing here!? You should be resting!" Rin said in a worried tone.

"I'm fine Rin. It was just a bad dream, it's not like I caught the flu or nothing." she replied.

When Rin let her go and she walked to her seat. But while she was walking, she noticed that Ryuji was watching her with a glare, making her uncomfortable. Finally getting to her seat, she flopped down and grabbed her notes and waited for the teacher. While she waited, she saw that Shima was now sitting with Izumo, leaving his two friends behind. Rin and Shiemi were blushing whenever they looked at each other, making Noriko smile and roll her eyes. All of a sudden, she was facing Ryuji, and a little too close for that matter. She backed away and saw that he was angry.

"We need to talk after this. And tell the fucking truth." he growled.

Noriko was about to reply, but all the lights went out. Shiemi, Izumo, and surprisingly Shima, squeaked when the lights went out. Ryuji looked up and then looked around the room, the teacher was still not here.

"A blackout?" Rin asked.

All of a sudden there was a loud blast from out in the hall. Everyone ran to the doors and looked outside. Noriko gasped and saw a large amount of demons that had gotten loose. They were going through every room and trashing everything. Thinking quick on her feet, she yelled to the students.

"Everyone follow me. We need to get to open land and find instructors."

With that, everyone collected their things and ran out of the classroom. Once they were outside, they heard another explosion and smoke escaped the door. Noriko kept her guard up, as well as everyone else. Noriko ran to the front of the door, chanting a spell to block demons from leaving the building. Rin was trying to get a hold of Yukio but he didn't answer.

"Yukio isn't answering! Is this another test?"

"Who knows. It could be anything." Konekomaru replied.

Noriko was walking back to the students when all of a sudden, someone was laughing from above her head. She quickly looked up and saw a demon that had scales all over him and long claws escaping from his fingertips. Then the demon kicked her and sent her flying to hit a tree with her back. Noriko grunted and fell to the floor. Rin got out his sword, activating his demon powers, he started to attack the demon that had attacked Noriko. Ryuji ran to her side and helped her up, but Noriko shrugged him off. Her angelic healing took place fast, because she knew that a few bones were cracked because of that kick. But by the time Ryuji ran to her side, she was completely healed and struggled a little bit to get up. When she saw that Rin was fighting the demon on his own, she started to chant a fatal verse to the scaly demon.

It started to scream in pain and then headed for Noriko. She stood her ground and waited for the right moment. Once it was close to her, she punched it square in the face, sending it flying and burning in the sky.

When the demon disintegrated from her angelic touch, she heard a scream from Shiemi as she was being attacked by another demon. The next thing they knew, they were being surrounded by demons. Rin and Ryuji were back to back, Ryuji said his chants while Rin sliced at the demons. Shiemi was saved by Izumo and they fought together with their familiars. Noriko on the other hand was alone and surrounded by demons, all of them out for blood. She quickly let the seal on her wrists release, sending out a powerful wave of energy that made the demons turn to dust. Noriko felt the power run through her, making her feel invincible. She Ran to the group and said a chant that would protect them from harm. Ryuji felt her spell take effect, as well as the rest of the group.

All of a sudden, there was a whistle that ran through the air, making the demons stop and disappear. Noriko looked around and then all of a sudden, her nightmares were coming true. It was him.

"Everyone run!"

"What? No! We are going to-" Izumo was saying.

"Get out of here now!" Noriko yelled.

Rin stood next to Noriko and noticed that she was shaking.

"We never leave anyone behind!" Rin said in a heroic tone.

The demon laughed and said, "You children should listen to her."

"Shut up!" Noriko yelled as she ran towards the demon at an amazing speed.

She punched and kicked at the demon, emitting loud bangs when she hit him. And one powerful kick to the head sent him flying. He grunted and smiled evilly.

"That's what I've been waiting for! Come on! Bring it!" he said while floating in the air.

Noriko forgot about the others and jumped up to the demon. She hovered for a second and then kicked him in the chest, sending him flying a few miles.

Rin looked at the others and were completely shocked, "We need to listen to her guys. Come on, lets head to the main office and try to find someone who can help." And with that, they were off.

Noriko glanced at the students and saw them running with Rin. But Ryuji stayed back and she saw the confusion on his face. Noriko looked away and ran towards the area where she had kicked the demon.

While she ran, she was tackled by the demon. She quickly shoved her feet under his chest and kicked him, sending him in the air again.

"Why are you attacking us now!?" she yelled.

The demon laughed and replied while in mid air, "I thought it was the perfect time, because you are completely defenseless right now! And I thought that your classmates might get a kick out of this."

Noriko growled, she started to chant a fatal verse, but the demon didn't budge. Taking out her familiar papers, she summoned Ariel. The demon growled and was heading for Noriko, but was stopped when the great lion had the demon in his teeth. He quickly disappeared with black smoke before the lion chomped down on him.

_"Noriko, we must be careful with this demon. Your father and I had an ordeal with this little maggot."_ Ariel said telepathically while he stood next to her.

_"The only weapon I have right now is you. I tried a fatal verse and my physical hits, but nothing has gotten him yet. How did my dad and you manage to injure this demon?"_ Noriko replied telepathically.

They were looking around them, surrounded by trees did not help them with the situation. Noriko was about to run, when all of a sudden, she was taken by the throat and lifted in the air. Ariel roared and followed the demon, but was stopped when the demon sent minions to deal with the great lion. Noriko struggled and tried to break his arm, but nothing worked.

"I'm going to finish you once and for all. But I want to see those pretty wing's of yours before I kill you." he said while tightening his grip.

Noriko coughed and spat in his face, making him mad. He made a sword out of his demon magic and stabbed her multiple times in the core. But the wounds would quickly and easily heal up. She grunted and smiled at the demon.

"Hehehe… you're not going to get anything done while doing that."

The demon growled and was about to fling her to the ground, but noticed something was wrong.

Noriko smiled and shot the demon in the chest with her angelic powers. The white ball burned hot in her hands and sent a loud bang once it went through the demon. He let go and she fell to the earth, making a crater when she landed.

The demon growled and was about to attack her again, but was shot in the back by someone down on earth.

Noriko grunted as she got up and looked to see that Yukio and the other students were armed and ready to kill.

The demon yelled and said, "I will be back! Mark my words you angel bitch!" and with that, he disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

Noriko got up and cracked her neck, Ariel appeared by her side and rubbed his head against her back purring. She smiled and turned around and gave Ariel a hug.

_"That was too close Noriko. You must train harder. I was so worried about you child."_

Noriko smiled and replied, _"I know. Next time, you and me will kill the bastard."_

The lion grunted and grabbed the back of her shirt with her teeth and flew them out of the crater. When she landed, she saw the students and then saw Rin smiling like an idiot.

"You're alive!" Rin said.

Noriko grunted, "Yeah I'm fine, see, not a scratch."

Rin gasped, making her look down at herself, and she saw that her white shirt was now covered with a great amount of blood and dirt.

Ryuji and the rest of the students walked to Noriko, expecting answers.

She was brushing off the dirt on her shirt when all of a sudden, Ryuji grabbed a hold of the front of her shirt and brought them face to face.

"What the hell was that!? If you don't tell us the truth I will shoot you in the face!"

Ariel growled and was about to pounce on Ryuji but was stopped when Noriko telepathically talked to him.

_"Ariel, I need you to keep your guard up for a little bit. With everything they've seen, I need to show them the truth."_

Ariel looked at the students and then said, _"If you wish."_

Noriko looked straight into Ryuji's eyes and said, "I'm a daughter of an angel."

Ryuji raised his eyebrows and then laughed, letting her go. Noriko folded her arms across her chest and waited for him to be done.

"You can't be serious!" Ryuji said.

"No, she's right." Yukio said, making Ryuji stop and look back at Noriko.

Noriko walked backward and when she had enough space, she started the incantation. The wind around her started to pick up, making her long gray hair flow. A bright light started to emit from the ground she stood and the markings on her wrist and back formed a circle around her. She floated up into the air and felt the power being released after so , white escaped from her eyes and mouth, her wings started to morph out of her back, making her scream. When her wings fully extended, the brightness of the blast made everyone cover their eyes.

When she was done, her wings flapped in the air, making her hover in place. Her body was cleaner and brighter, the dirt and blood disappeared.

Ryuji and the students gasped and stared at her. Noriko floated down and put her wings behind her, shrugging her shoulders because of the odd feeling.

"This is the first time anyone else has seen me like this, besides my parents."

Everyone stood in shock, even Yukio. Rin walked up to her and said, "Holy crap Noriko! You look badass!"

Noriko giggled and said, "Thanks… I guess. Man, it's been a long time since I let these bad boys out."

She stretched out her wings, surprising everyone with how long they really were. The sun hit all the right spots on her white wings, making her more beautiful than she already was.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner. I didn't know how… or even if, I would tell you. Do you guys forgive me?" she asked.

The students looked at one another and nodded. All except for Ryuji. Shima walked up to her and put an arm around her shoulders and said, "Hey more the merrier right? I mean we already have the children of Satan in our class, why not the child of an angel too?"

"Hey!" Rin said.

Noriko smiled and noticed that Ryuji was pissed off.

_"Noriko, I think it's time you put your wings away."_ Ariel said while he walked up next to her, making everyone back off.

Noriko nodded and started the incantation to seal up everything. She grunted when her wings morphed back into her back. The black symbols appeared out of the sky around her and inked themselves into her skin. When she was done, she was now on the ground, panting. Rin and Yukio were at her side helping her up.

"Used up a little bit too much power there." Noriko said while she was balancing herself between the brothers.

Out of nowhere, she saw Ryuji walk up to her and punch her in the jaw. It didn't hurt her as much as it hurt him, because he was gripping his hand in pain.

Ariel roared and pounced on Ryuji, locking him by the shoulders and roaring in his face.

"Ariel let him go!"

Ariel growled and back off of Ryuji, who just laid on the ground in shock.

Noriko let Ariel go and walked to Ryuji's body that was still on the ground. Kneeling down, she looked down at the ground and said, "I'm so sorry Suguro. Please forgive me. I wanted to tell everyone but I couldn't"

Ryuji sat up and looked at her, her hair was covering her face. He put his hand on top of her head and said, "Alright… I forgive ya."

Noriko looked up and smiled, she tackled him into a hug, making him blush like crazy. He had his arms in the air, not knowing what to do, so he patted her back instead. She caught the smell of Ryuji's cologne, it was very forestry and something else she couldn't quite figure out. His body was rock hard, telling her that he worked out a lot. Ryuji on the other hand caught a whiff of Noriko's perfume, it smells like clean cotton and lavender, and something else he too couldn't figure out. She broke away from the hug with a blush on her face.

Rin laughed and said, "Aww, you guys are so cute! Kissy face kissy face!"

Noriko and Ryuji glared at him and then blushed when they realized that they were still holding onto each other. They got up and everyone walked back to the main campus, separating for the day, and preparing for tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry this chapter is so short. I've been busy and having a hard time with thinking about the romance part in this fanfiction. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter Seven

As the week went by, everything seemed to be the same. It was just like her regular days before anyone knew that she was part angelic. As Friday came around, Noriko got ready and did her natural routine. When she was done, she started to walk to class alone. Ever since Rin asked out Shiemi, they have been inseparable. It's cute, but get's really old really quick.

Noriko sighed and brushed her hair out of the way. It was now sometime during early September and the weather was starting to be manageable. And today was extremely nice, a nice cool breeze swam through the air, the sun was somewhat covered by clouds, certain areas of the land darker than the others because of the puffy clouds. As Noriko got closer to the door to the cram school, she stood outside for a little while and enjoyed the breeze. She took out her phone and took a picture of the clouds. The sun just behind them, creating rays through the small openings. Noriko smiled and then heard someone walk up to her. She looked up to see Ryuji smiling at her.

"Nice day huh?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded her head.

Ever since she showed her true form, everyone kind of avoided her for a day and then they treated her normally the next. But her and Ryuji haven't really talked since then. They would glance at each other and nod in greetings and that was it.

Ryuji opened the door for her and she thanked him as she walked by him. As they walked down the long hallway towards their class, Noiko decided to speak first… as well as Ryuji.

"So uh." they both said at the same time, making the situation a bit more awkward.

"Go ahead." Ryuji said while a small blush ran across his face.

Noriko smiled and said, "Well, I was goin' to ask you how you've been since… um… well you know."

Ryuji sighed and replied, "I was going to ask that. Well anyway, I've been fine. Just workin on my studies. You?"

"Same… well except having to work for the headmaster and dealing with Rin." she replied.

"Oh… I'm sorry." Ryuji said with a small laugh.

"Thanks." She replied with a small laugh as well.

As they arrived to their classroom door, they heard something the resembled skin being slapped.

Noriko and Ryuji looked at each other in confusion and opened the door. And what they saw was honestly no shocker.

Shima had somehow pissed off or embarrassed Izumo, which resulted in her slapping him across the face.

Noriko and Ryuji entered the room, looked at each other, and rolled their eyes. There was going to be a day when Shima pissed Izumo off and it seemed like today was the day.

"Oi! Shima! What happened now?" Ryuji asked as he held his briefcase over his shoulder with the look on his face like he was dealing with a child.

Noriko crossed her arms and stood next to Ryuji while they waited for an explanation.

Rin was giggling while he had his arm across Shiemi's shoulder. Shima was on the floor holding his cheek that had been hit by Izumo, who stood over him in anger and embarrassment.

"This pig here just touched my breast!" Izumo said with a blush on her face.

"It was an accident!" Shima said while he sat on the floor covering his cheek.

Noriko started to giggle as well as Ryuji, but he nudged her arm to stop and they did.

"Don't ever speak to me again!" Izumo yelled as she collected her stuff and left the classroom.

Ryuji walked over and helped Shima up, while Noriko waved to Rin and Shiemi, and walked to her seat.

The day went on with lessons and note taking. Noriko once in a while looked over at Ryuji who had put his hair up to concentrate on the lesson. She thought it looked really cute on him...wait a minute.

Noriko shook her head to get the thought's out of her head. Of course she liked him… but in that way? She wasn't quite sure.

"Ms. Hitomi!" the instructor yelled.

Noriko looked at the teacher and asked, "I'm sorry?"

The instructor sighed and said, "Repeat Psalm 103 1 through 10… if you can."

Noriko rolled her eyes. Of course she could. She knew the bible inside and out.

"Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul,

and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:The lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities…. Would you like me to continue?" Noriko asked.

The class as well as the teacher had their jaws almost touching the floor. The teacher let her go and she sat back down and continued to be bored for the rest of the class hour.

As the day ended, Noriko was gathering her things and was about to head out when she heard Rin call her name.

"Hey Noriko, I need a favor from you."

Noriko crossed her arms and said, "What?"

"Um… can you tell Yukio I'm not going to be home in time for dinner? I'm taking Shiemi on a date to the amusement park."

Noriko smiled and said, "Ya sure no problem. Be careful ok?"

Rin smiled, thanked her and walked back to Shiemi. As everyone was walking down the hallway, Noriko decided to embarrass Rin and yelled down the hallway, "Don't forget to wear protection!"

Rin tripped and almost fell on his face. The other students looked at him and then back at her. She laughed and continued to walk down the hallway. As she hit the outdoors, the breeze had slowed down and the moon was beginning to show through the sunset. Noriko smiled as she looked at the sky that she didn't bother to notice that Ryuji, Konekomaru and Shima were walking up to her.

"Um… what was that all about?" Ryuji asked while he had his coat and briefcase over his shoulder.

"Hmm? Oh, I was just teasing Rin and Shiemi. They are going out on a date and he asked me to tell Yukio that he's not going to make it for dinner. What's up with you guys?"

"Eh, nothing much. We were going to rent some movies and head back to the dorms." Ryuji said.

"Hm, sounds fun. But shouldn't somebody be apologizing right now to a certain girl?" she asked while looking at Shima who now had a small bruise across his cheek.

Shima blushed and said, "I don't have her number, and I have no clue what her dorm room number is. And if I did I would be apologizing to her!"

"Um… I have her number." Konekomaru murmured

"What!?" Ryuji, Shima, and Noriko said.

"Well ya, we all have been going on important missions and she refused to give it to anyone besides me and Shiemi." Konekomaru said.

Noriko crossed her arms and began to think of a plan to help little Shima out. Then she got an idea.

"Hey, can you call her and say that there is some medium level demon and we need her help?"

"Why?" Ryuji and Konekomaru asked.

"Because we are going to help our friend out with girl troubles." Noriko smiled.

Shima instantly beamed while Ryuji and Konekomaru looked confused. Noriko rolled her eyes and said, "Now here's the plan."

As Shima was in position, Konekomaru, Ryuji and Noriko hid behind the trees and waited for Izumo to show up. Noriko had helped Shima get spruced up by straightening out his uniform and combing out his hair while Ryuji had gone and bought some flowers. Meanwhile, Konekomaru was texting Izumo about their location.

They were in a certain part of the public garden where there were flowers blooming and a beautiful fountain in the center. Old light posts lit up the area and settled the mood.

Shima was sitting on the fountain with the flowers in his hands. The three of them gave him a thumbs up while they hid behind the trees.

Then Izumo came running across the street and into the garden with her familiars by her side. Shima stood up and straightened out his uniform. Izumo stopped and looked around, realizing there were no demons, she glared at Shima. She was about to yell at him but he stopped her.

"Izumo… I'm sorry for what happened earlier today. The whole day I felt horrible and wanted to be by your side to tell you how sorry I was, but you weren't here. So please, accept my apology and hopefully… we can be more than just friends later on." Shima said with a blush and smile on his face.

Izumo stood there blushing, her mouth open wanting to say something but nothing came out. Shima walked up close to her and put the flowers between them.

"Please."

Izumo looked up at Shima and then looked away with a blush on her cheeks. She released her familiars and took a hold of the flowers, taking a small wif of the fragrant flowers.

" I guess I have no choice… do you… want to go get… something to eat?" she asked while her face was red as a tomato.

Shima smiled and said, "I would love to."

And with that, they walked away arm in arm. When they walked far enough away, Noriko, Ryuji and Konekomaru were blushing and smiling.

"Yes! We did it!" Noriko said in excitement. They gave each other high fives with smiles on their faces and walked out from their hiding place.

"I'm just surprised that she didn't kill him." Ryuji said.

"You and me both." Noriko replied with a grin.

As they were walking out of the garden, Konekomaru and Ryuji waved her goodbye as she walked away to her building. Along the way she had received a text from the clown saying that I was free tonight and he had an important meeting to attend. Noriko jumped in the air and cheered in excitement. This night was getting better and better… but then she remembered that she was going to be alone in her room tonight, besides having Kuro with her. Noriko sighed and decided that she would just do her work and read a good book.

Along the way to the building, she thought that she might have just become the matchmaker of her class. Noriko groaned in annoyance. Oh ya, she helped others get together but she couldn't find herself a nice guy. Her thoughts then went to Ryuji, he was nice to her, handsome, smart, and had that bad boy look that she always liked in him When she arrived at the door, she continued her thinking as she did her normal routine when she walked into the building. But she was only there as a slave towards the clown, and to have a roof over her head, and she already knew everything that the teachers were teaching and would complete the homework in a snap. And besides, Ryuji is so into school that he wouldn't even think about romance. Would he? Noriko shook her head and jumped in the shower. The warm water calmed her down and she started to wash the day away.

When she was done, she got dressed in her pajamas and went to work on her homework. Later she went downstairs to have dinner with Yukio, Ukobach, and Kuro since Rin was on a date and wouldn't be home until later that night. Thanking Ukobach for the meal and saying goodnight to Yukio, she went back up to her room and decided to read a book before she went to bed. But her thoughts always went back to Ryuji, which frustrated her even more. Finally going to bed, her last thought was that she wouldn't let romance get in her way of her… training? Noriko groaned and cleared her mind and finally went to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry this took so long... again. I had a hard time trying to get Ryuji and Noriko together... anyway, enjoy!

Chapter Eight

On Monday Noriko was sitting at her seat in class listening to her ipod while waiting for other students to arrive. Since she didn't have regular school, she was able to get to class early without having to deal with traffic. As she waited, she started to hum the song she was listening to on her ipod and tap her foot. When she saw Ryuji walk into the classroom with Konekomaru, she stopped her humming and tapping and smiled at them. They smiled back and walked to her seat. Noriko took out her earphones and smiled at them when they reached her.

"Hey, so how did it go last night with the love birds?" Noriko asked as she wrapped her headphones around her ipod and shoving it in her bag.

Ryuji groaned, "He never shuts up about it."

Konekomaru smiled and said, "I think it's nice he finally asked her out… I just feel sorry for Izumo that she has to deal with him now."

The three of them laughed and stopped when Shima and Izumo walked in while holding each other's hands with a blush on their face. Shima smiled and walked over to them.

"Noriko! Thank you so much for your help! I am in your debt!" Shima yelled as he gave her a hug.

"Um… you're welcome. I'm glad everything worked out."

Shima asked how everyones weekend went and all of the answers were the same, slept, homework, study. Shima rolled his eyes and was about to tell them about his wonderful date with Izumo but stopped when the professor walked in the room. Shima and Izumo took their seats together and Ryuji and Konekomaru with theirs. Rin and Shiemi entered the last minute and got a warning from the professor about their tardiness. Noriko smiled and started to listen to the teachers instructions.

As the long day of classes were over, Noriko stretched her spine and started to pack everything up. She decided to go to the library and see what sort of books they would have since she has already read the books in her room. Noriko walked to Rin and Shime who were talking to Shima and Izumo.

"Hey Rin, I'm probably going to be late tonight. I'm going to the library, if you need anything I have my cell phone."

Rin nodded and Noriko walked out of the room and down the hallway.

"Hey Hitomi wait up!" Ryuji said while walking over to her.

"Hey Suguro, what's up?"

"I overheard you were going to the library, mind if I join you?" he asked with a blush covering his ears and scratching behind his neck.

"Um… sure I don't mind." Noriko smiled.

The two of them walked to the library in an awkward silence. But was soon broken by Suguro.

"So… where are you from?" he asked.

"Out in the country, how about you?"

Ryuji explained his experience in Kyoto and reason of being an exorcist. Noriko was surprised and was impressed by his devotion to all his plans. As they walked into the library, Noriko's breath was taken away as she saw the mountains of books the library had.

"Wow… this is…" Noriko couldn't even finish her sentence because of the sight that was in front of her.

Ryuji smiled and said, "Ya, the amount of books they have is ridiculous. So where do you want to start?"

"Well, I was just going to look around and then head back to the building. What are you going to do?"

"Study...but… I wanted to see if you could… um… help me with some stuff." Ryuji asked as he blushed from head to toe.

Noriko smiled and said, "Sure, I don't mind. Come on, I want to see what they have."

They walked around and started to look through the thousands of books that sat on the shelves of book cases that kissed the heavens. Ryuji followed her with no complaint.

When Noriko walked into the supernatural genre of books, she started to look at different books and see what sounded good to read and what sounded like a boring book. Ryuji decided to look around as well, but something caught his eye when he looked down the corridor of books. There was a little demon peeking from the corner with big beady eyes.

"We have some company." Ryuji said as he was getting ready to chant a spell.

Noriko looked up from her book and saw the demon and knew why it was here.

"It's not going to harm you unless you damage a book. These little guys keep an eye on people in the library to make sure they don't harm their books."

Ryuji looked at her and saw she was still reading her book.

"How do you know that?"

Noriko sighed, closed her book and placed it back from where she got it. The demon that hid behind the book case disappeared.

"I know that if I lie you're gonna be pissed off at me again so I might as well tell you the truth. My parents were once exorcists that worked here."

Noriko continued to tell Ryuji everything as they walked around looking at books. Ryuji listened and followed her like a lost puppy. She told him about her always being a target since birth, not being able to have friends because of the way she looked, how she was trained and what she had to go through with her father during training. Noriko put her hand on a book that she used to read when she was a little girl and smiled.

"And now… here I am."

Ryuji was speechless at what Noriko had just told him about her life. She was trained from such a young age to be an exorcist. All the training and learning plus having to deal with high school and having demons track you down like a dog. He looked at her and saw that her face was reliving the sorrow, and he also saw something else, the scar on her right cheek that went from the cheekbone to barely hitting her lip.

"How did that happen then?" Ryuji asked as he pointed to the scar on his right cheek.

Noriko placed the hand that touched the book to her scar and frowned.

"A demon attack… but that's for another time… So what did you want me to help you out with?"

"Well… since you're more advance in the class, I was hoping you would teach me some of those spells." Ryuji said as he looked down and shuffled his feet.

Noriko smiled and replied, "Sure, I just hope you're up for it because it can take a lot out of you."

Ryuji smiled at her with a determined look, making her blush a little bit.

"Let's get started." Ryuji said with a confident attitude.

For the next hour, Noriko gave Ryuji a simple spell that would serve as a sensor of demons and where they were located. Ryuji took down notes and was pretty much drinking in all the information. But once in a while he would look at her and he was really able to see her stunning face again. Her eyes sparkled silver, her long grey hair covered her face from time to time which made Ryuji irritated that he couldn't see her face. When he thought over what he just thought, he shook his head and returned to listening to Noriko.

Noriko on the other hand was also keeping a close eye on him as well. She was able to see his brown eyes look at her and was able to see his smile from time to time. His hair spiking out in all different directions and his cologne washing her senses. She could tell he was lean because of the way he sat and the way the muscles in his arms would ripple in taking notes. They sat a foot away from each other at a desk and she soon started to notice Ryuji having a glazed look over his eyes. She waved her hand infront of his eyes, making him come back to planet earth.

Noriko giggled when he blinked constantly and shaking his head.

"It's late, we can continue this tomorrow if you'd like." Noriko said as she packed up her things in her bag.

"Uh, sure… I'd like that." Ryuji said with a smile that almost melted Noriko's heart.

As they walked out of the library, Noriko's phone went off. She groaned and pulled it out to see that the clown had sent her a message, saying that he has news for her. She rolled her eyes and closed the phone and shoved it in her pocket.

Ryuji saw the look of irritation on her face and asked, "Who was that?"

"An evil clown with a weird hobby… apparently he has some news for me. Who knows what that could mean…. So I will see you tomorrow in class?"

Ryuji smiled and said, "Of course."

And with that they went separate ways. The moon was high in the air and the breeze ran through her hair. When she arrived at Mephisto's office, she knocked and heard his flamboyant voice say, "Come in darling!"

She rolled her eyes and opened the door to see not only Mephisto but also Yukio.

"Um… Hi?" she said nervously as she sat on an empty chair.

"Noriko my dear… we have some good news for you." Mephisto said as he stirred his tea with a small spoon and sat back in his huge chair.

Yukio took out a file and said, "Ms. Hitomi… we are going to be giving your parents a proper burial and their grave sight isn't far from here… would you like to go and pay your last respects?"

Noriko's eyes went wide by the news that she just heard. Blinking a few times to focus, she nodded her head in agreement.

"Very well. When would you like to visit them?" Yukio asked.

"Sunday. Now is that all? I have homework to do." Noriko said as she got up and headed to the door.

Mephisto was about to speak but before she left the room she whispered her thanks and slammed the door on her way out. He sighed and said to Yukio, "She is a mystery, is she not?" In response, Yukio just nodded.

The next day in class, Noriko decided to just skip class today. She didn't want the others to know why she would be slumping in her desk all day. Plus she didn't want to talk to anyone at all for the next few days. Noriko turned over in her bed and decided to just let sleep take over her for a while.

Meanwhile at the cram school, Ryuji was expecting to see Noriko all happy today. But instead he found her seat empty for the whole day. Rin wondered why she wasn't here and what happened to her. At the end of the day, Ryuji decided to not worry about Noriko. She probably just didn't feel like coming in today.

When Rin got home, he walked up to Noriko's room and knocked on her door.

"Oi, Noriko! You ok in there? You missed class today and I didn't see you come down for dinner last night."

Noriko opened the door and said, "Ya I'm fine. I just didn't feel like going in for class today."

"Oh.. ok, well I guess I will see you for dinner?"

"Definitely." and with that she closed her door and went back to reading her book.

When Noriko walked into class for the next day, she was surprised to see that Ryuji was the only one in the room. He had his hair pinned back with a clip and was studying one of his school books. When she walked closer, she found out that he had his earphones on his head and was completely lost into his book. Sneaking up behind him, she quickly took out the earphone in his right ear and said, "What'cha listenin' to?"

Ryuji jumped and turned sharply to see Noriko smiling at his reaction.

"Holy Fuck Hitomi! Why did you do that!?" he asked in outrage.

Noriko laughed and sat down next to him, "It was the only opportunity I had to mess with you."

Ryuji scowled, turning off his ipod and putting it away, Noriko saw that he looked really mad.

"I'm sorry…" she said while dropping her head down and fiddling with her pant fabric.

Ryuji sighed and ruffled her hair with a blush creeping along his face, "It's ok… just scared the living shit out of me. Where were you yesterday?"

Noriko fixed her messed up hair while saying, "Meh, didn't feel like it. What did I miss?"

She lied to him so that he wouldn't worry about her. Ryuji explained what the lesson was yesterday, and of course, she already knew the subject. She looked across the room and then asked Ryuji, "So why are you here so early anyway? Don't you have other classes?"

Ryuji replied, "Our class was canceled, so I decided to come here to just study and relax… what about you? You're usually the first one here."

"I already finished high school, so I have half of the day to do nothing."

Ryuji's jaw dropped and he said, "Wait… how old are you?"

"17… why?" she asked in wonder.

Ryuji blushed and said, "I'm only 16."

Noriko smiled and said, "So?"

Ryuji shook his head and said, "Nothin'... So are we still up to studying after class today?"

Noriko nodded, "Yes sir."

There was an awkward silence so Noriko decided to break it.

"So when is your birthday?" she said as she rested her elbow on the desk and her head in her hand.

"August 20th. You?" he asked while tapping his pencil.

"Damn I missed it! Well happy extremely late birthday" she said with a smile on her face and a laugh escaping her lips. "Mine is October 26th."

Ryuji blinked and said, "That's only 4 days away!"

"Good job, now I know you can do math." she said with a smirk.

Ryuji blushed and glared at her, "Smart ass. What do you plan on doing?"

Noriko looked away. It was the day she was going to go see her parents grave. She couldn't tell him that, so she lied, even though she knows that he hates it.

"Um… hang out in my room?"

He shook his head and said, "That's not a way to celebrate your birthday!"

"Why not? It's just another day."

Ryuji shook his head at the stubborn girl next to him, "You do have friends you know. And family."

Noriko's heart felt a stab at his last sentence. She put on a fake smile and said, "Ya…"

"Why don't we hang out… or something." he said with a blush that covered his cheeks.

She was taken back that he would offer to hang out with her, "Um… sure… what do you want to do?"

"It's your birthday, think of something." he said while rubbing the back of his neck.

She thought about a lie and said, "How about hanging out with the others, I think we would have more fun with them."

He rolled his eyes and was about to say something but Konekomaru and the others walked in. Rin and Shima gave them a weird look that made them feel confused. As Noriko said her goodbyes, Ryuji grabbed her wrist and said, "Why don't you sit with me?" His face blushing once again, along with Noriko's. She agreed and sat down. As class went by, she was surprised that the classes were over in a snap. Next thing she knew, her and Ryuji were in the library studying. Well more like Noriko teaching and Ryuji studying. When that was over, they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Noriko dreaded today. It was her birthday and the day she went to go say goodbye to her parents… again. She got herself dressed in a plain black t-shirt, black skinny jeans, a pair of dark brown fingerless gloves and her black combat boots. It was around lunch time when she decided to go and see her parents. But the tricky part was getting by Rin and Yukio without them knowing. The past few days the whole class had been acting weird, Ryuji wasn't talking to her as much and Rin would try to talk but everyone took him away and she was left alone. She shrugged it off and looked around. Then she remembered that her room had a window. Looking outside, she saw that dark clouds were starting to dress the blue sky. Opening her window, she grabbed her messenger bag that her wallet, phone, Bible, and papers for summoning just in case. As she strapped her bag over her head and let it rest on one shoulder, she perched on the window sill and looked to see if there was anyone around. Luckily there was not a soul in sight. Jumping from the third story window and landing with ease, she fixed her hair and started to walk down the path. Mephisto had given her the address and decided to walk there, she wanted to be alone for right now and didn't want that clown around her.

But meanwhile, Rin was sitting on the couch watching the television when he heard a thump outside, he peeked out the window and saw Noriko walking away.

'Did she just jump out her window!?' Rin thought.

Rin decided to text Ryuji and Shimei that Noriko was going somewhere without them knowing. And sooner or later, Ryuji, Konekomaru, Shima, Izumo and Shimei arrived at Rin's building and he told them the story. Everyone was confused why she left and decided to follow her. Rin and the others ran around the city until Izumo spotted Noriko buying flowers at a flower shop. Everyone hid behind things that they could manage to hide behind from a suspicious Noriko. Keeping their distance, they were lucky that Noriko decided to put her headphones on.

"Where is she going with those flowers?" Shima asked as he tip toed behind Izumo.

"Maybe she has a boyfriend that none of us knew about." Rin said with a smirk towards Ryuji.

"We don't know that yet! Just shut up and let's keep following her." Ryuji said.

As Noriko put her headphones in and listened to music, she kept feeling like she was being followed. Looking back, she didn't see anyone that seemed to be suspicious. Continuing her walk to the cemetery, she continued to get closer. Her heart felt like it could disappear at any moment.

She finally reached the gate and saw that Mephisto was already here with his pink limo. Rolling her eyes, she opened the gate and walked down a path until a guard came to lead Noriko to her parents grave.

As the group got closer as well, everyone was shocked to see her go into a graveyard. Shiemi squirmed and said, "Maybe we should let her be alone now."

The others ignored and she was forced to follow them. The dark clouds starting to release the rain in tiny sprinkles. They hid behind tombstones as they searched for Noriko. When Rin found them about 20 feet away, they all hid behind the stones and heard Mephisto speak to Noriko.

"My dear… we waited until you arrived to begin the ceremony. Now let us begin."

As a priest recited verses from the bible and music playing in the background. Noriko closed her eyes and started to remember the good memories of her parents. She remembered how her father would read her a book every night before she fell asleep. How his deep voice soothed her and how he would tuck her in at night before leaving the door cracked for her so that the night light gave her a sense of safety. Smiling, she then remembered Halloween where they all went as a family of vampires. Her father acting all out with the Dracula accent and her mother acting like Morticia from the Addams Family. They would wait for her on the sidewalk as she went up to her neighbors to ask for candy. When she got what she wanted, she would see her father hugging her mom from behind, both having the smiles of proud parents. Before she knew it, Mephisto tapped her shoulder and she came back to reality.

"We will leave you now to say your last goodbyes. They were great exorcist and friends Noriko… And um… Happy Birthday" and with that Mephisto left with his guards, leaving her alone. Well not completely alone.

She fell to her knees and put the flowers in front of her parent's tombstone, the rain drenching her in water.

"Hey guys… miss ya. Happy Birthday to me huh? You won't believe what I've been through since that night… I know I shouldn't dread on the past but," her heart caught in her throat and tears started to mix with tears, "I cry myself to sleep almost every night. I felt like I could have done something to save you guys. But then again you wanted me to live… Thank you." She put her hand on the tombstone and continued, "You know… even through all this mess… I met some pretty awesome people. There are these two twin boys that have been helping me throughout the whole ordeal. There names are Yukio and Rin Okumura," Noriko smiled and choked a laugh and said, "You won't believe it, but… they are the children of Satan himself… You would expect them to be evil...but honestly… they are the most down to earth people I've ever met. I could go on about them but I don't have much time, pouring like cat's and dogs out here. There are others also. There is Shima who is the biggest pervert in the world but sweetest guy. Then there is his girlfriend Izumo, they are so opposite that they complete each other… goes along with Rin and his girlfriend Shimei" Noriko choked out another sad laugh while tears still fell from her eyes, "The funny thing too… I kinda acted like a matchmaker and got them together… I don't know how you guys dealt with Mephisto… he has got to be the weirdest demon I could ever know… besides from Rin."

While all of this was happening, everyone was able to hear her speech. Rin, Shiemi, Izumo, and the whole lot started to tear up. Rin smiled sadly at Shimei and Shima did the same with Izumo. Ryuji's heart felt like it was going to shatter into a million pieces. She has hid this much pain from them so that they could live their lives happily and stress free.

Noriko smiled through her tears and said, "Even though you guys are not on earth… I know you guys are still watching over me from wherever you guys are…," she put her forehead on the tombstone and continued, " Please watch over us and… I love you mom...dad." And with that she broke down bawling her eyes out. She hugged herself and let her head fall, her hair falling in globs in front of her face.

Ryuji got up as well as the others and walked over to her. Noriko knew they were there for a while but didn't want to say anything. Ryuji got on his knees besides Noriko and wrapped his strong arms around her. Rin was hugging a crying Shiemi and Izumo put her head on Shima's shoulder. Konekomaru stood next to Rin, he had his head bent and was sending a prayer. Everyone had tears in their eyes.

Noriko cried harder when Ryuji put his arms around her. He slowly rocked them back and forth while the rain drenched them. She yelled crying, making everyone else's heart strings pull. Ryuji smoothed down her hair and said, "It's ok Noriko, we're all here for you, I'm here for you."

Noriko turned her body towards him so that she could hug him back properly while she cried.

It felt like an hour before she calmed down, Ryuji never left her side. He hid his face in between her neck and had his arms wrapped around her waist like a snake. Noriko released her arms from around his neck and let them slid down to his chest. He pulled back and was able to see her face, even though he regretted it. He saw how much pain she was in and can almost tell her heart seemed to be on it's last life. Noriko saw that his spiky hair was now almost covering his eyes. She brushed them away with one hand and rested her forehead against his. Both of them blushed a bit from her action. Rin and Shima looked at eachother and then grinned.

They both had their eyes closed and Noriko said, "Thank you… I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"Forget about it… I'm just glad you're ok."

Noriko opened her eyes and saw how close they were. She was able to see his dark brown eyes so much closer. Ryuji on the other hand thought his soul was being read by her, making him blush.

Rin cleared his throat and said, "I don't want to ruin the moment...but we are getting soaked out here and if we stay any longer all of us are going to get sick."

Noriko and Ryuji smiled at each other and got up. Everyone jogged back to Rin and Noriko's building. When they finally arrived, all of them were out of breath and were soaking wet.

"I will go get the towels. I have some extra clothes Izumo and Shiemi if you want to wear them while your clothes dry in the dryer."

Izumo and Shimei smiled and followed her upstairs. Rin gave the boys towels to dry off and extra clothes as well. As everyone dried off and warmed up, Noriko found a noted on her bed and a gift. She opened the note to see that it was from Mephisto.

'Here's a little gift for the birthday girl. Use it well.'

Noriko raised an eyebrow and looked at the rectangular box. When she opened it, she saw the most beautiful dagger she had ever seen. The hilt had a blue gem and silver metal was lacing over each other like vines. The blade itself was long and sharp with a tint of blue in it as well. Noriko gasped at the beauty and just stared at it.

"Look's like the crazy clown does have a heart." she said with a smile.


	9. Chapter 9

Man this chapter was tough! Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Nine

As Noriko put the dagger on her desk when she heard a knock at her door. She spun around to see Ryuji in some of Rin's clothing. He had on a white tank top and a pair of black basketball shorts. His hair was slicked back from the rain and she could see his toned stomach and chest through the almost see through tank top. While she was in a pair of her pajamas, her red short shorts and a large black tshirt.

She blushed and said, "Hey…"

"Hey… How are you holding up?" he asked while he leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms.

"Fine I guess… They passed away about a month ago… the ceremony was finally passed last week...Ya…" Noriko said as she comed through her silver locks with her brush. Some of the water droplets landed on her shirt and the floor.

Ryuji pushed himself off the wall and said, "Come on, there's a surprise for you downstairs."

Noriko blinked and gave him a curious look. Ryuji rolled his eyes and motioned for her to follow him. She tossed her hairbrush on the bed and followed him. As they went downstairs, she had a feeling that this was going to be a good surprise; and it was. When she got downstairs, she saw everyone smiling and a sign that wished her happy birthday. Everyone yelled happy birthday to her and shot confetti from small bottles that popped. Noriko smiled, small tears forming in her eyes from their celebration to her. The only people she celebrated her birthday with was her parents. Other kids didn't want to be around her because she always said she could see monsters and scare away the kids. And as a teen, she would stay quiet and no one bothered to know her. So seeing this with people she just met over a month ago, caring that she was here with them, and happy to see her made her heart throb. Ryuji smiled at her reaction and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"You guys… why… I… thank you." Noriko said as she fought to keep the tear away.

Rin and Yukio walked up to her and gave her a group hug, and that then led to a bigger group hug as everyone joined in. Everyone laughed and separated from the big group hug.

"We didn't want to leave you on a sad day, so we all decided to make this the greatest birthday party you ever have." Rin said as he held up a small box that was wrapped in white paper and had a blue ribbon around it.

Noriko smiled, looking at everyone she said, "I… can't thank you enough… you guys are the best!"

She slowly opened the present and saw a small necklace that had a small jar and a note inside that said, "It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.

Ralph Waldo Emerson." Noriko laughed and hugged Rin.

As everyone gave her gifts, her heart felt like it was going to explode from gratitude. Shemie gave her a potion that helped with sleep. Yukio gave her a sketchbook and a set of pencils. Shima gave her a gift card to a music shop that was popular in the city. Izumo gave her a card that had a lot of writing inside of it. Noriko looked it over and saw that it was talking about how she didn't know her that well and thanked her for getting her and Shima together. Finally, Konekomaru gave her a tiny cat statue that would bring good luck. When she thanked everyone, they had some cake and chat in the kitchen.

"Wow… so you've never had an official birthday party with friends and stuff?" Shima asked in shock.

Noriko smiled and said, "Ya… it was just me and the folks… So what do you normally do at parties?"

She bit into the sweet cake and her taste buds exploded from the sweetness, as well as everyone in the room.

"Well at the monastery, everyone would dress up as Santa Claus and go around the neighborhood singing carols and -" Rin was interrupted when Shiemi covered his mouth with her hand and said, "I wouldn't listen to him. Both him and Yukio's birthdays are two days after Christmas so they also never really experienced a birthday party as well."

Everyone laughed and each told their stories of what they would do when it was their birthday. She was amazed at some of the celebrations and smiled. She looked around and saw everyone having a good time, Rin and Shima were laughing about something perverted while Izumo and Shiemi talked about nonsense. Konekomaru laughed at Shima and Rin, and Ryuji smirked while he leaned against the farthest wall. Noriko smiled when Ryuji caught her looking at him, making him blush and look away. She smiled and then her thoughts went to her parents, she knew they were watching over her and her friends. Hoping that they saw that she was in great care by her new friends. She closed her eyes and sighed as she felt a warm presences around her, a tear shed from her eye, quickly wiping it off before anyone saw. As the party went on, the day started to get late and everyone had other things to do, which Noriko didn't mind. She was able to get to know the other students more and learn their personality. Noriko got everyone's clothes out of the dryer and let them change before they left. Shima and Izumo had a date planned, Rin promised Shiemi that he would help around at her garden, Konekomaru had to go to the library to help someone on some homework, and Yukio was called in from work. Leaving Ryuji and Noriko alone. She sighed as she sat on the couch and rubbed her temples. It was a long day and she didn't expect it to get this emotional. Ryuji sat next to her and sighed as well, cracking his neck and fingers. She glanced over at him and saw that he looked as tired as she was. His eyelids were getting heavy and he kept having to blink to stay awake.

"You should probably head out too, you look like you're about to pass out at any moment. Did you get enough sleep last night?" she asked.

Ryuji groaned and said nervously, "Not really… I was busy… doing stuff."

Noriko could see through his lie, she turned her body towards him and gave him a look that said yeah-right. He groaned and said, "Just… close your eyes and… put your arm out."

Noriko blushed a little and obeyed his commands. He pulled the bracelet out from his pocket and slid it on her wrist. He looked at her face and saw how close he was. Her face peaceful looking, her cheeks shaded in a light pink, and her soft lips looking so… kissable. Ryuji started to lean forward and Noriko was wondering what was taking so long and decided to open her eyes, shocked at what she saw. Ryuji's face was inches from hers, his nose touching hers and his breath tickling her lips. His body was leaning forward, an arm rested on the side of her and a hand came up to cup her cheek. Noriko froze for a second and quickly licked her lips, Ryuji caught her action and went in for the kill. When their lips touched, a shock went through both of them. Noriko sighed into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. Ryuji groaned and kissed her harder, pushing her body more into the couch so he was lying on top of her but not so much to crush her. One arm supported him and the other was bringing Noriko's head closer to his, not wanting her to pull away. Their lips crushing into one another and following the same movements. Noriko groaned at the intimate position they were in and decided to quickly stop it before they went any further. She pushed his chest and broke away, gasping in the needed air. Ryuji and her were red as a tomato, he smiled down at her and then realized what happened.

He jumped off the couch and said, "Oh my God, I-I'm so sorry! I just- I-" he ran his hands through his hair and breathed in and out, trying to calm himself.

Noriko blinked and looked down at what he had put on her wrist. She saw that it was a bracelet similar to his, but had a silver thread keeping everything together. As she looked at the detail in the bracelet, he looked over to see her focused on his present.

"It… it will keep you protected… even though you don't really need any since you're stronger than Okumura and-" Ryuji was cut off when Noriko interrupted him.

"I love it. There is so much detail in the beads and I love the color. Thank you." she said with a smile.

Ryuji blushed and looked away, she smiled and got up from the couch and walked towards him, making him nervous as he looked out the nearby window. She hugged him from behind, wrapping her hands around his built torso and clasping her hands together. Ryuji gulped loudly, blushing from head to toe.

"Hi- Hitomi?!"

"Noriko, call me Noriko from now on Ryuji." she said with a slight blush.

Ryuji blinked and looked down at her hands that were clasped together right below his chest. She laid her head on the back of his shoulder blade and sighed. Noriko gasped when Ryuji spun around and hugged her properly. His arms wrapping tightly around her waist, his head in between her neck and shoulder. She smiled and did the same. They stayed like for what felt like an hour but was only a few minutes. Ryuji pulled back and rested his forehead against hers with a sigh.

"So… what made you want to kiss me?" Noriko asked with a grin and slight blush on her face.

Ryuji blushed and smiled, "What didn't make me want to kiss you?! God, Noriko… honestly… you're amazing."

Noriko blushed and pecked him on the lips, making him blush more from her actions.

"I… I like you too."

As they were about to kiss again, there was a knock at the main door, making them both jump and look at the door.

"Hey, Noriko! I forgot my key and wallet, can you let me in?!" Rin yelled through the door.

Noriko rolled her eyes and sighed, "Dammit Rin!" she whispered.

Ryuji chuckled, he gently grabbed Noriko's chin and brought her face to his. Giving her a kiss, he pulled away and whispered, "I'll see you later. Good night, Noriko."

She blushed and watched as Ryuji grabbed his things and opened the door to see an irritated Rin.

"What the hell are you still doing here rooster?!"

"Shove it Rin, we were just talking. See ya later loser." he said while walking away from a pissed off Rin.

Noriko chuckled and crossed her arms, looking at Rin she said, "Really? The most two important things and your little brain couldn't remember? Poor thing."

Rin glared at her and huffed, "Whatever."

She smiled and walked over to ruffle his hair, which made him more irritated. Saying good night, she went up to her room and flopped on the bed. Blushing when she replayed the kissing scene in her head a million times. Noriko blushed and hid her face in the pillow. The next day was going to be really interesting.


	10. Update

Hey readers! Sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I just started a new job and college has been on my butt with homework. I think the only time I will be able to update the story is on Christmas break or whenever I get more ideas. Thank you.


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